Transparent Skies
by Rocket2SE
Summary: 5 years after the sudden disappearance of Stoick's son, a terrifying new enemy emerges. On his Night Fury, the Dragon Conqueror flies swiftly through the skies, freeing trapped dragons and destroying Berk's best weapons. Stock is determined to capture him, dead or alive. But Berk begins to suspect that the rider has a big secret, and it's up to Astrid to find out the hard way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Stars twinkled in the skies at night, decorating the black skies with sparkling light, but the flames on the Earth were much brighter as houses were burned with dragon fire. A battle between monster and man continued, as both sides fought against scales and skin. Claws clashed against swords and teeth clamped down on battle axes, it was clear neither side would back down. A Gronckle let out a sluggish growl of frustration when a net suddenly engulfed it, malfunctioning its flying ability in midair. The dragon started falling with a load screech, crashed harshly on its side into the ground and skidding a few feet away, leaving a trail of long skid marks and damaged orange scales behind.

Still wincing from the impact, the dragon did not realize it had landed only inches away from death. Opening its eyes half way, the Gronckle shrunk back and froze at the sight of the shield maiden before it. It released a whimper, begging for mercy, but the fire in her blue eyes told it its fate. With one last effort, it tried scrambling away, but only managed to kick its feet in the air uselessly before the warrior let out a raged cry and brought down her axe, piercing its skull. She used her heavily furred boot to keep the dragon's head in place as she yanked her weapon out. The dying animal gave on last twitch before the Viking struck it again, ending its misery.

Astrid exhaled, puffing out white fog. Seeing the beast go limp, she relaxed her shoulder muscles and dropped her head to have a moment of peace to herself. Reaching down to retrieve her axe, muffled footsteps were heard. She quickly grabbed her weapon, spun around and stretched her arm back, ready to throw her trusty axe at –

She froze when her vision finally adjusted and focused on the figure.

"Snotlout!"

"Hi, Babe!" Snotlout quickly switched from surprised to casual… or, at least, pretended to be casual. "Surprised meeting me here?" He flexed his arms and puffed out his chest. "You and me coincidently at the same place, coincidently at the same time? Don't you think it's such a coincident?" She mentally cringed at the way he smiled.

"That, or you followed me here." She added while holding a bored expression.

"F – Followed you here? Me?" He fake laughed while gesturing to himself, "Never! What, you think I'm some sort of stalker?"

Astrid raised as eyebrow.

Dropping his smile, he sighed and lowered his arms, "Fine, yes! I followed you. Are you happy now?"

"No."

"Look, I _was_ following you, but – but then I caught this Gronckle and – "

"Your _father_ caught it, not you." She interrupted him, slightly more irritated. He froze, hands still in the air, only seconds from describing how he tangled the dragon up in a net in the sky.

His eyes nervously searched everywhere, as if he would somehow find intelligent dialogue to use, "… Well, I … came to finish the job! Now, if you'll excuse me," He puffed out his chest once more and side stepped her, "I have a dragon to – " His eyes finally landed on the dragon. "Oh, man! It's already dead!" He turned to her, obviously disappointed, "Babe, that was _my_ kill!"

"Stop crying like a baby." She said as she examined her axe for any damage, "You were slow. It would've gotten away if I hadn't tracked it down."

Snotlout looked suddenly offended, "Slo – Slow! How dare you insult you future chief!"

Astrid was ready to punch him in the jaw before hearing the familiar sound of screaming villagers. Abandoning their bickering, the 20 year olds sprinted to the most crowded area of the battle field. Spotting a purple Nadder near a group of fluffy sheep, Snotlout darted towards the dragon with his hammer and rammed the beasts head. The dragon let out a pained screech before shaking its massive head to clear its vision. Focusing on the buff Viking, the Nadder lowered its head down and gave a warning hiss, sticking out its sharp spins.

Snotlout charged head first, ignoring the dragons warning stance. He threw his hammer directly at is head while the Nadder launched its spikes. The Viking dropped and rolled to the side to avoid the attack, but a nearby Viking wasn't lucky as two spikes pierced his shoulder. The hammer knocked the Nadders head. Irritated, the Nadder retreated backwards before jumping into the air, taking off.

Astrid leaped over a most likely dead Nightmare and continued running. She spotted a large group of vikings straggling to hold down a net containing two Nadders and a Gronckle. The dragons flapped their wings furiously, blowing dust everywhere. A woman holding the net was almost lifted off the ground before Astrid quickly grabbed the net and helped the Vikings hold the dragons down.

Suddenly, a hand pushed Astrid's head down to avoid the Nadder's fire blast. She felt the heat radiating in the air even after the dragon stopped firing. Four massive hands held the net. "We'll take it from here!" One of the gigantic men said as he pulled on the net, bringing down the beasts.

" _Next wave!"_

Astrid instinctively released the net and looked up. Dragons in many shapes and sizes, flying close together, forming a blanket covering up the stars in the sky. Gripping her axe tightly, Astrid held her breath as she heard the chief's orders.

"Bring it out."

A painfully loud squeaking sound was heard as massive wooden doors were pushed open, revealing, as Tuffnut liked to call it, The Big Boss.

With six gigantic wheels and spikes protruding outwards to prevent dragons from climbing it, The Big Boss had a huge platform and four symmetrical catapults. Objective: Bring down a group of dragons in one shot. It took months to build it. Not only was it extremely heavy, but it was also complicated and difficult to build and use as all four catapults must activate in the same time to release the nets.

Four nets in one weapon? Who would think of such a weird contraption?

One person and one person alone, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, also known as Berk's missing heir. The boy may have disappeared after being chosen to kill the Nightmare, but he was never forgotten. The ones who mistreated him now regret their actions. The ones who had ignored him now wish they had done something for the boy before he had mysteriously vanished.

They had looked everywhere, but found nothing. Some said he had ran away, but after further inspection, it turned out no boats had been used. Others speculated that he had been stolen, either for ransom, or sold into slavery. But the guards in the watchtowers claimed they had seen no boats land on Berk.

The most popular theory was that he was eaten by a dragon, which would make sense as there was no why off the island without a boat, not to mention the poor boy wouldn't have been able to defend himself. But it was strange why no one had sounded an alarm for a dragon attack. Had he ventured too far into the woods? Had he stuck out at night and got attacked while everyone was peacefully asleep?

The most disturbing, and horrific theory was that the boy had been abused at home and decided to commit suicide. The thought itself clawed at Stoick's heart. He never caused any harm to his little boy, but that didn't ease the feeling that he was responsible. Maybe his boy decided to die out of loneliness. Stoick was never the same after losing his only son.

His only remaining family.

After announcing that Hiccup was truly gone, things started crashing down. The chief no longer participated in parties and celebrations, but locked himself in his own home, thinking of the many things he had done wrong. Fishlegs almost tore out his own hair while whispering apologies to the ceiling of his room, hoping the most likely dead boy to hear him.

The twins had be their own usual selves until someone brought up Hiccup's name, they'd instantly shut up. Snotlout had… well… Some people said that the boy's death opened a side in him no one knew existed in Snotlout. Guilt.

While everyone grieved in silence, Astrid preferred to target all her messy anger at innocent trees. Screaming tell her throat hurt and fingers bled from gripping the axe's chipped handle as ugly tears smeared her dirty face.

The only thing she didn't understand was _why_.

Why was she crying like this?

Why did she suddenly care?

Why did it have to be him?

Just… _why?_

After the announcement, Gobber's work was as slow as a slug, because, not only did he lose his apprentice, but he lost _Hiccup_ , a boy he had practically raised. After stepping into his apprentice personal work area, he had stumbled onto his sketches. Some were drawings of people, others were of dragons. A smile creeped onto his face, knowing this was all Hiccup's work. One drawing in particular was strange. It was a dragon he had never seen before, with bat like wings and a missing tailfin. Gobber scratched his head. He had never seen this dragon before. Was this the creation of Hiccup's imaginations?

Flipping through drawings, he landed on one of the boy's strange inventions, one that he never got to show him, a combination of catapults adjustments and thick nets. The Blacksmith chuckled. Only Hiccup would think of –

Gobber stopped in his tracks. The boy never had a chance to show off his creations.

Now it was time people saw his full potential.

.

"Set it up!" Stoick ordered, sweat running down his forehead. Men loaded up the weapon with nets and Gobber aimed at the flock coming their way. The downside of the weapon was that it was heavy and couldn't go too high, but it was still heavy enough to slow the dragons down.

Everyone held their ground as they waited for the great impact. Everything seemed to slow down as a familiar, but terrifying screech was hear. Astried blinked and looked up above her head, as did the rest of the Vikings. The sound came again, followed by a rush of wing as the monster flew by. Her heart skipped a beat.

"No… "

 _It can't be…_

"NIGHT FURY!"

"Get down!"

The Vikings scattered like cockroaches while others ducked behind anything close by. Unfortunately for Astrid, she was too stunned to move. A beam of light shot through the sky, hitting its target, which happened to be the catapult, the force of the attack sent debris flaying at all sides. A peace of burned wood scratched Astrid's face, leaving scratch marks on her left cheek. She shielded her eyes by folding her arms in front of her as strong winds from the explosion blew at her hair.

The massive weapon was no more. The wheels were okay, but the upper half of what's left was black burned wood, and nothing. Still burning wood and metal parts sprinkled the ground. Stoick took one last glance up to confirm what he just witnessed. The black shadow flapped its wings one more time before disappearing into darkness.

"It's back."

* * *

 **What's up? Well, as you can tell, English isn't my first language, so inform me of any mistakes so I can fix them.**

 **It's been a few years the last time I wrote any fanfiction stories, mainly because of school and family problem.**

 **My main challenge right now is fitting each character's personality. This is my first HTTYD Fanfiction, so I haven't grasped their personalities yet. And the title? Yeah, I just threw it in in the last second lol XD**

 **P.S**

 **I don't own HTTYD**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Stoick's fists clinched so violently the hammer in hand was ready to split in two. He was red with anger as blood rushed to his face. Everything else around him had blurred as his eyes stared at the spot in the black sky where that _devil_ had last been seen before it vanished into space. How dare it come back…?

A few months after his poor, innocent son disappeared, the dragon attacks suddenly stopped. It was the strangest thing, as if someone had simply pressed a stop button and put a halt to the mindless battles. Not a soul knew how to explain that strange phenomenon.

Three years… No attacks for three years. Everyone thought it was a miracle. They truly believed they were finally safe.

Oh, what foolish thoughts…

The attack came out of nowhere, but it was noticeably different. Instead of the usual random dragons stealing food, what they encountered was truly abnormal. The dragons would be sent out in massive waves, huddled together with the large and strong taking the lead, the quick and agile would be back up in the center, and the small, useless ones flying last. It was as if they were organized. The thought itself was terrifying.

But it didn't matter. Just keep knocking them down and kill them, right?

Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy. Because of the dragon's new _strategy_ the Vikings would end up using up of their energy and good weapons on the first wave, only to be attack a few minutes later by a second. With little strength and no undamaged tools, the villagers luck was running out.

This went on for another two years.

Fight.

Break.

Fix.

Break.

Fight.

It was an endless loop with no hope for an ending.

And for the past five years, the Night Fury did not show up. Stoick had simply thought that the demon had died from old age, disease, injury, or had starved to death.

He did _not_ expect it to suddenly appear and destroy his largest weapon.

Why _now_?

Five years, and _now_ it decided to show its ugly self?

Just what in Thor's name was going on?

.

 _THUNK_

The axe lodged itself into the poor, mistreated tree for the fifteenth time that day. Breathing deeply as a poor attempt to calm down, Astrid stomped over to the large, kneeling tree and angrily yanked out her favorite axe, causing bits of splinters to flick out from the force of the act.

The warrior gritted her teeth. No matter how many times she struck her _decoy_ , the thoughts of last night's battle never left her mind.

That Night Fury…

Why did it come back? The dragon attacks were bad enough, now they had to deal with the beast of darkness?

Crying out with frustration, she swung her axe around before her arms and legs gave out. She slumped back onto the grassy ground, lodged her weapon into the Earth and lowered her head in exhaustion.

This was getting her nowhere.

Her head suddenly perked up at the sound of flapping wings above. That couldn't have been a bird. It sounded too big to be a feathered animal. She stared into the sky, but found nothing.

The sound came again, only farther to the west, followed by rustling trees and the snapping of tree branches.

A dragon at daytime?

This wasn't possible. Then again, the dragons have been acting unusually weird.

Grabbing her axe firmly, she quietly tracked the sound. It was very hard to pinpoint where the noise had actually came from as the chirping of birds and splashing of the nearby rivers distracted the Viking from hearing anything else. Sighing, she leaned against a tree only to be pocked in the back by something sharp. Yelping, she jerked around to find a badly damaged, thick tree. It was snapped in half by an unknown force, and was full of splinters and sharp ends. Whatever did this was large. Stepping closer, she took notice to the uneven soil beneath her. There was a wide trail engraved into the ground, beginning from where she stood, and ended towards a cliff.

Closer inspection revealed shiny, black scales scattered around.

She did not know of any _black scaled_ dragons. Taking a deep breath, she ventured onwards and stumbled onto the most beautiful piece of land. A cove, covered in tall, green grass. It had small, tiny rivers pouring down into the cove, creating a large pond.

"What… is this place?" She whispered to herself.

This was not in any map. This was not known by anyone.

This was a place of beauty and peace.

Her mind was set. She had to find a way in. Her current spot was too dangerous.

After everything she had been through, peace was everything she wanted and _needed._

After an hour of running around, she found a tight pathway. It was moments like this where she was glad to be smaller than the rest of the Vikings. However, halfway into the entrance, she stopped at what was blocking her way: A shield.

Her mind started spinning.

Why would there be a shield at a spot like this? She crouched down as low as possible and managed to move under it, banging her head against it in the proses. She grabbed it and gave it a few tags, but it didn't even twitch. It looked like it had been there for a long time, judging by the white spider webs with some leafs, twigs, and dead bugs stuck on it.

The shield was proof that she wasn't the first Viking to find this place.

But it was also proof that it wasn't entirely safe. Whoever brought a shield along with them _knew_ something was dangerous around here. She held her axe closer and continued, keeping an eye for anything out of the ordinary. On the ground were more black scales. In fact, they were scattered everywhere in the cove.

Looks like the unknown dragon stayed in the cove for a while.

 _CRACK!_

She froze after she hear and _felt_ the snapping sound.

Beneath her feet were bones.

She instinctively took a few steps back, falling backwards. Those were indeed bones, but they were too small to be human bones. It most likely belonged to a fish or a bird. Sighing with relief, she stood up and dusted her skirt, wincing when she felt new bleeding scratches on her palm brush her skirt.

Astrid couldn't remember hurting herself, but recalled feeling a sting after she fell. The injuries were covered with dirt. Sighing she walked over to the pond, held her breath and plunged her hands into the water, gritting her teeth from the stinging sensations.

Something caught her eye in the water. At first, she brushed it off as a fish, but after looking closer, she realized it was sharp, had a handle, and was clearly manmade. She maneuvered her hand close to it under the water, creating ripples and scaring away nearby fish. She grabbed the object carefully between her fingers and fished it out.

A small, rusted knife.

Not just any knife.

Something was carved into the handle.

 **H.H.H III**

Her fingers trembled she almost dropped the blade. She suddenly forgot how to breathe. Her whole body seemed ten times heavier, and her body temperature shifted.

She knew only one person on Berk whose name ended with an _H_ and _the third_.

Hiccup had been here.

He had been here and somehow lost his weapon.

He had been here and never came back.

She forced her body to take in air no prevent herself from passing out.

She needed to get out. She needed to leave. She needed to go back.

She tried to get up, but gravity didn't seem to make sense anymore and she plopped back down.

The shield… the dragon scales…. the abandoned knife…. the vanishing boy…

It was a puzzle that was missing pieces to complete the story.

Tucking the knife in her belt, she managed to stand up with wobbly legs. Taking a few, slow steps, her foot accidently kicked something.

An old, brown book.

It was open, face down on the grass, covered with dirt and insects, but her memory recalled seeing this book before.

She would often see Hiccup writing in it. Whenever she was practicing, resting, or hanging out with her so called _friends_ , she would notice him scribbling things into in, covering the pages with charcoal.

Taking a second to calm down, she brushed off the dust and bugs and flipped the book over. Her eyes widened at what she saw. He was never writing, but drawing. He was an artist, a very talented one.

There were sketches of houses, animals, people, Stoick, landscapes, dragons…

… And her.

The way he had drawn her made her heart skip a beat. It was clear he was careful and determined whenever he drew her.

This was how he saw her? As a beautiful, fearsome girl ready for anything?

It was evident, by his work, that he didn't see her like every other boy did. All they saw was a sex object, a girl how was meant for cooking and cleaning, a person who couldn't make decisions for herself, a creature lower than human.

But Hiccup saw her. His drawings told her everything. He saw her as a powerful person, as a human being, a woman full of life and capable of so much, and as a warrior.

"H… Hiccup…" dark circles formed on the pages, her vision became blurry.

Such a great person used to exist on this Earth… a person who cherished her and worshiped her without her even knowing it.

And that person had gone.

More wet circles appeared on the pages, smearing old charcoal. It took her a while to understand that those were her tears after her nose clogged up because of a runny nose.

She clutched the book tighter and brought it to her chest, an effort to get the book as close as possible to her heart and soul.

"Hic… Hiccup…"

Why was she repeating it anyways? It wasn't like she could bring back time and stop things from getting so messed up.

How could she fix such a mess anyways?

Something in the back of her mind kept telling her it was all her fault.

If she had at least spoken to the boy, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

She could have been his friend.

She could have been there for him… to protect him…

To show him that maybe… maybe not everything is as bad as it seemed… and to let him know that things would get better…

But her pride sucked that hope away from her.

 _Leave him, focused on becoming a warrior. Isn't that your dream?_

This was all her fault.

All hers and no one else's.

This was all too much for her to handle. Snapping the book shut, she tucked it under her arm and slowly got up to head back to Berk in shame. The chief needed to see these.

Ducking under the shield once more, she rubbed one last tears away from her cheek wither wrist and tiredly walked.

A Low rumble was heard nearby. Astrid wasn't in the mood to fight a dragon. She sighed and reached back for her axe, realizing too late that she had left it behind in the cove. She saw slow movements from the corner of her eyes. The glowing white eyes gave away her opponent.

There, between the trees, was a hairy, grey beast on all fours, its triangle ears folding back behind its head, protecting them. Skin folding up, revealing slobbery, pink gums, decorated with slightly yellowish, sharp teeth. It's back hunched, making it look bigger. Claws dug into the ground for extra grip. Matts covered its main, armpits and the back of its legs, with twigs and dead insects hanging from them. Even with Fur sprinkled with dirt and feet submerged in mud, Astrid knew what this thing was.

"Dire wolf…" She cursed under her breath. Dire wolves never came this close to Berk, but she didn't have time to think of logical explanations at that moment.

She had heard stories about their size and strength, but she never fought one before.

Plus, without her axe, she was doomed.

It took a slow step forward, revealing it's self from the shadows. Its yellow cat-like eyes pierced into her soul. The hair on the back of its neck stood straight up, its throat vibrated as it growled, folding the tip of its tongue inwards lightly.

It was so much bigger than she had imagined. She did the only thing she could.

She ran.

That was a big mistake.

She heard a loud snarl and the rustle of grass behind her as it trotted behind her, keeping its eyes glued to the back of her head.

Tree branches slapped her face as she ran like an antelope leaping for its life through the woods. Her body jerked back the moment her brain analyzed what was standing in front of her. Right there, in front of her, was the wolf. It had cornered her without her realizing it. Her feet gave out, failing her. She clawed at the filthy ground, trying desperately to crawl back, but it was too late.

As it closed in, she closed her eyes and covered her face with her arms, waiting for the end that never came.

A powerful gust of wind blew her off the ground. The wolf yelped in surprise and stepped back, growling loader, hunching its back higher to look more intimidating.

Astrid, still on her back, unlocked her arms and sat up immediately. A body in black scales stood between her and the wolf. Facing the wolf, its black, bat like wings half spread out, preventing the wolf from sidestepping. It had long, floppy ears flat against its head. Its chest and neck vibrated as it growled deeply. It had multiple leather straps, a few pouches, some small pieces of armor and what looked like a saddle. Its other tailfin was brown for some reason.

She couldn't see the dragons face, but she saw something else.

Something she never imagined ever seeing on a dragon.

A man sat there, covered in leather and armor from head to toe. He had straps and buckles attached almost everywhere. He also had a red dragon symbol on his shoulder. Astrid was too stunned to react. She just froze there, staring.

The rider placed his palm flat against the dragon's head, which eased its growling. The man bent down and clicked something from the left side, out of Astrid's view, and hopped off the dragon. He approached the animal and stood in front of it, unmoving.

The wolf suddenly growled louder and launched at the man before –

The wolf yelped in pain as a blade of fire formed. The rider stood still as the wolf shook its head. It took one last look at the man decided this opponent was too powerful and trotted off.

Astrid's mouth hung open. This man was holding a flame sword…

A click was heard as the man reattached his sword to his peg leg and hopped on his dragon once more.

Astrid's conscious finally caught up to her.

"WAIT!" She cried, reaching out to them, an attempt to stop them.

Both dragon and rider turned to her and Astrid froze. Deep, green eyes of both dragon and his master searched her up and down, possibly looking for any injuries. The man nodded to her, tapped the dragon's head twice before the dragon extended its wings and bolted into the skies, leaving a confused Astrid behind.

 **Okay… wasn't planning for it to be this long… Originally, this chapter was meant for the wolf part only, but I saw the opportunity to add the part with Astrid finding Hiccup's abandoned stuff in the cove, so I did it :3**

 **Speaking of wolf… Yes, that was a Dire Wolf.**

 **In Norse mythology, a Dire Wolf is a wolf that's the size of rhinos. I haven't watched Game of Thrones but I heard there's one in there.**

 **In truth, Dire Wolves** _ **did**_ **exist, but they weren't** _ **that**_ **big XD They were roughly the size of the extant gray wolf, but with a heavier build.**

 **I wanted Astrid to face an enemy she never faced before. Therefore, it would make sense that she would need help. And sense HTTYD uses dragon, I decided to use another mythological animal.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Astrid always had a plan ready, no matter what the situation is.

…But not this time.

She remained still, staring into the empty spot in front of her. Was it hallucinations? Had her stress affected her to see what wasn't there?

But… it all seemed so real… too real…

This wasn't her mind playing games with her. The events truly happened.

What in Thor's name did she just witness?

Reaching for the book again, she held it close with weak arms and slowly made her way back home with the image of that man and his dragon imprinted in her mind. That man obviously did not fear the dragon. It was as if he knew it for a long time and knew exactly how it would behave. Was it his pet?

But… it was a _dragon!_

Dragoons can't be pets. However, he had a dragon she had never seen before. Was it a more docile kind of dragon? Did those kinds of dragons exist, anyway? It certainly seem submissive and obedient to its master. Maybe the man had raised it right after it had hatched? Could that be the reason why the black dragon did not harm him?

Who _was_ that man, anyway? Was he from far away? That would explain the weird looking dragon and his body type, but why did he come here? Why was he on Berk? Were there anymore Dragon People out there?

Sighing with defeat, she looked up at the sky, hoping for some sort of explanation to come.

But all she saw was the orange sky.

.

Gobber brushed sweat off his head as he limped to the forge. The destruction of Hiccup's weapon was a major shock. He lost it to that Night Fury. Even after all his hard work, he still couldn't get to use the weapon his apprentice had designed.

But that wasn't going to stop the blacksmith.

In all his years, he had never felt so determined.

Stepping into his workshop, he made his way to Hiccup's personal work area and stopped in his tracks. Something felt odd. Something… didn't feel right. Pushing the door open, he walked in and examined the room, looking for any signed of misplacements.

Everything was fine, except for the smell of smoke.

He looked around, but nothing was on fire. Confused, he scratched his head, still searching for anything out of place. His eyes landed on Hiccup's desk. The drawings were scattered on the wooden desk, covered with some sort of dark… sand?

Looking closer, Gobber noticed it was ash. The dark, grey and black dust littered around and over the papers, and some on the floor.

Something had been burned here.

He brushed off some ash with his hand and examined the drawings. Using his memory, he tried to remember what every drawing was of. After a few, stressful minutes, he finally realized what was missing from the collection.

The weapon designs and the dragon pictures were gone.

His eyes trailed the ash on the desk, down to the amount on the floor.

Someone burned them.

He, she, or _they_ burned Hiccup's work.

Stunned, he gathered some ash into his hand, tilted his hand and watched the black dirt slip down like a waterfall, disappearing at the end.

Whoever did this was going to pay.

.

Astrid stood in front of the chief's home, still not sure of what she was doing.

Stoick needed to know, but… how? If she told him everything, he might not believe her.

An armored man riding on a black dragon? It seemed more like a children's fairy tale.

She turned her attention to the book in hand. Some of the pages had come loose, sticking out of the book. One page was barely hanging on. Not wanting to lose it, she plucked it out and gave it one last glance.

It was her, looking as peaceful as ever. Out of all the drawings in the book, this one had a special spot in her heart.

Maybe it was because she never got to relax and enjoy life.

A lot of drawings were of her fighting, working, or holding her axe.

This one was nice and simple.

She looked over her shoulder before she folded the paper and tucked it away.

She just couldn't part with it.

She would keep this one. Hiccup wouldn't mind, right?

Taking deep breathes, she knocked five times with the back of her fist.

Heavy footsteps were heard then two clicks before the door opened, revealing Stoick the Vast. Judging by the look on his face, he seemed surprised to find her standing there.

"Sorry to bother you, sir." She said nervously, clutching the book closer.

"No, no – not at all." Stoick said in a deep voice and stepped aside. She took that as a welcoming sign and walked in.

"I needed to talk to you… in privet." She had never imagined it to be so hard. How was she going to explain everything to him when he looked so intimidating?

His eyes suddenly turned from calm to concern. A chair creaked as he dragged it across the room and sat in front of the fireplace.

"Take a seat." He gestured to a chair.

She obeyed and sat down, facing him.

They sat there, unmoving, accompanied by the sound of the flickering fire while Astrid thought of how to start this conversation.

"Well?" He asked, slightly impatient.

"Eh… well, I…" She looked down, then at him, then back down again. Her eyes landed on the book squeezed to her chest. Holding her breath, she held it out, presenting it to him.

"I found this, sir." She said, a little too quickly.

Stoick's expression did not change, mostly because he did not know what that was. He gently took it from her. Her arms fell in defeat. Who knew handing a book over could be so exhausting?

Stoick examined the front, then the back. He still couldn't see why this was so important. He looked at Astrid, but she kept her eyes glued to her lap, her hands playing with the end of her skirt.

He flipped it open and was suddenly overcome by rushing memories.

That drawing style… he knew it anywhere.

He finally understood why Astrid was so nerves to give it to him.

It used to belong to his son.

He brought his hand to his forehead to stop the world from spinning. It didn't help.

"Did… did he give you this?" His voce wasn't so intimidating anymore. He sounded sad and tired now.

"No," she shook her head, "I found it in a cove… somewhere in Raven Point, along with this…"

She held out Hiccup's knife. The chief's eyes widened and Astrid swore she saw them water. He reached out with a shaky hand and pinched the small knife between his fingers.

It was his son's.

Stoick gave it to him for protection.

The boy vanished, but he left behind his book and knife.

"It… It was in a pond." Astrid gathered up her courage and continued, "And… there was a shield, but it was stuck. And there were dragon scales everywhere. Black ones..." Something in her mind suddenly halted.

Black scales.

Black dragon…

THAT black dragon!

"The black dragon…" She whispered to herself.

Stoick's eyes were as big as dinner plates. "What?"

The girl snapped out of it, "Sir?"

"You said black dragon scales and a black dragon." He reminded her.

"I… I said that out loud?" Crap, he wasn't supposed to hear that.

"Astrid," His voice brought chills up her spine. "what did you mean? What did you see out there?"

How was she going to tell him?

"I saw… there were scales everywhere and… I saw a black dragon on the way…" She gulped and continued, hoping he would believe her next lies. "It didn't attack me. It just stood there." He wouldn't believe her about the dragon rider anyways. "It was all black with green eyes, stood on four legs, and had bat wings."

Stoick raised an eyebrow, "What kind of dragon was that?"

"I don't know, sir. I've never seen anything like it before."

Soick rubbed his forehead. He had never heard of a dragon like that, but he knew Astrid Hofferson had never lied. Was it a new species? Or was it just a rare kind of dragon hiding in Raven Point?

"Sir?" Astrid called, noticing he took a little too long thinking.

"Astrid, can you take Fishlegs to that location tomorrow? He knows a lot about dragons – He might know what it is."

She felt a sweat drop, but refused to show her fear. She puffed out her chest and straightened her shoulders. "Of course, chief."

"And arm yourselves. It may have spared you, but that doesn't mean it won't attack next time."

"Yes, sir." She nodded.

The chief glanced back at the knife in hand, running his thumb over the letters engraved on the handle. "You may leave, now."

Without a word, the young warrior turned and left quietly, leaving Stoick to grieve in privacy.

Black dragon scales, Hiccup's knife in the water, and finally, his disappearance…

The fact that Hiccup withdrew his knife was a sign that he had been threatened and lost his weapon in battle. His poor, harmless son fought to survive, and lost. Stoick could only imagine how helpless his son had been. He must've been hurt badly, in pain and used his last bit of strength to cry for help.

But he was alone.

A drop of salty water landed on the blade as the fire died out.

.

Even though the idea of returning to that location scared her, she couldn't turn down such an offer. She needed to know.

"Astrid, dear?" Her mother called from her rocking chair.

Tossing her worries aside, Astrid ran over to her mother and bent over to give her a gentle embrace.

"Mama."

"There you are, dear." Her mother said gently. Her mother was still strong, but she started getting grey hairs, which meant she won't stay strong for long.

"Sorry I worried you." Astrid said with a cute smile. "Oh, you better be sorry. Do you know what time it is?" Her mother said with a slight chuckle, a giveaway that she didn't mean to scold her. "Now off to bed, young lady."

"Mama, I'm not a kid anymore." Astrid pouted like a child.

"No matter how old you are, you will always be my baby."

Astrid pouted even more.

Her mother laughed before she placed a hand behind her daughter's head, brought her head down and kissed her forehead. Her girl smiled at the act.

"Now go to bed, dear."

"Alright, mama."

Astrid trotted up the stairs, went into her bedroom and closed the door firmly behind her. The girl started undressing herself. Stepping out of her clothes piled up on the floor, she shivered at the cold wind brushing against her back.

She remembered the open window. Sighing, she walked over to it and slammed it shut.

She sat on her bed and hugged her naked legs. That man and his dragon... Was that man related to Hiccup's disappearance somehow? The color on the scales she had seen in the cove matched the color of that black dragon. Was there a connection?

Cold wind wrapped around her again. Gritting her teeth, she stood up again to close that damn window that just wouldn't stay closed –

A green Terrible Terror sitting on the window sill stared at her with an axe in its mouth.

Astrid completely forgot what she was about to do.

A Terrible Terror holding an axe.

A Terrible Terror with an axe.

A Terrible Terror with _her_ axe.

No matter how many different ways she said it in her head, she still couldn't believe it.

Yet, it was sitting right there, still staring at her with wide eyes…with a freaking _axe_ in its jaws.

… _Have I lost my mind?_ Astrid thought while both human and dragon stared at each other. The dragon leaned over and dropped the axe. It landed with a loud thump and a clink as both metal and wooden parts touched the ground.

The dragon turned and dived out of sight, flying away into the dark sky.

Finally regaining her senses, Astrid picked up her axe and searched it up and down. It was indeed her axe, and it had been sharpened. She was planing to give it to Gobber to get it fixed yesterday, but apparently someone else did the job.

She looked out the window, but saw nothing.

Even though the thought itself was crazy, but it seemed that that tiny dragon was _sent_ to deliver her battle axe back.

Astrid Hofferson, what have you gotten yourself into?

.

Stoick awoke by the sound of blasts and explosions. Not bothering to put on his helmet, he marched outside to find heavy Vikings heading in one direction. The Dragon Training Arena.

There, he found the village gathered around it.

"Gobber," Stoick called, out of breath from running, "what happened?"

Before the blacksmith can explain, a growl from the sky caught his attention. The arena's iron cage had a huge hole, its edges still red-hot and steaming from a dragon's blast. Even in the darkness of the night, the chief saw the arena dragons escaping from the newly formed hole.

The last to escape was a fast, dark shape speeding away with victory. It disappeared in seconds while the other dragons flew away from Berk.

The chief felt something within him snap. Bloor rushed through his veins. His hands were ready to snap necks and crack skulls at that point.

Everyone shrank as they heard their leader snarl in rage.

" _NIGHT FURY!"_

* * *

 **Wasn't planning to update so soon but, oh, well, I couldn't resist :3 In fact, this story was supposed to be a weekly update, but I never expected so many reviews and I just could keep everyone waiting, so here you go! I would have finished it sooner, but my cat decided that my keyboard looked like a comfy spot to sleep on -_-;**

 **Lol I love that Terror XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"What are you trying to say, Gobber?" Stoick asked, stunned by the new information from the blacksmith.

"Look around you, Stoick." Gobber waved his hands around, "How else do you think the dragons got out of their cages?"

In the arena, the Vikings had checked every dragon cell, but found no dragons. However, what really astonished Stoick and his friend was the fact that the cage doors were unharmed. The locks and bolts of each cage were removed with no evidence of force and were placed on the ground. The Night Fury only made a hole in the ceiling, but nowhere else.

So how did all the dragons manage to open their cages, leaving no trace behind, and time their escape with the help of that Night Fury?

How did they even unlock their cages, anyway?

Unless…

"Gobber, are you suggesting _someone_ simply waltzed in here and released them?" Stoick grumbled, slightly irritated.

"Well, I don't know about the Night Fury, but I know, in all my years of dragon training, I've never heard of a dragon releasing itself from its own prison." Gobber said as he examined the Deadly Nadder cage, looking for any scratches or burns that might explain how the dragon got out, but the burns were old and the claw marks didn't explain the abandoned locks.

If a person was responsible for this, how did he leave them all free in the arena but didn't get himself killed in the process? Having a Nightmare, a Nadder, a Gronckle, a Zippleback, and a Terror in one, tight, confined location was a death wish, unless the person was highly skilled.

Still… there were no explanations on the Night Fury. There wasn't a dragon attack that night, so why did it suddenly decide to attack the Arena?

"Men!" Stoick called and the fat Vikings nearby dropped the piece of metal they were holding and stood straight, a sign of respect to their leader.

Stoick looked up at the exposed hole over his head, "I want that covered and fixed by tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

"And double the guards." He turned to his friend, "Gobber, think you can find areas for more watchtowers?"

"Sure thing, Chief."

"Good." Stoick glared at the hole. The moonlight slowly fading as the hole was covered up with an enormous blanket.

.

Deep in the woods of Raven Point, Astrid maneuvered between familiar bushes and brunches with determination. Fishlegs? Not so much.

"Ast… Astrid! Don't you – I mean… I know the Chief said so and all, but – Isn't this too dangerous, I mean…" The overweight Viking tiptoed his way through the planets, desperately trying to avoid scrapping his body against sharp thorns and twigs, which was hard to do for a man his size.

"This way." Astrid, ignoring her friend's complaints, sliced away a few long branches to form a path. She bent a branch over to get it out of her way as she passed.

"Do you even _know_ what's out here? Well… not that I know, but, it could be anyth – EEING!" Unfortunately for him, Astrid released the branch, which came right back and slapped him in the face. He yelped and covered his bright, red nose. Realizing his partner had gone farther, Fishlegs held on to his precious belt that had attachments such as three small, leather bags and one sword attached for protection, and hurried over to Astrid.

"This is where it starts," Astrid said while pointing at the broken tree.

Fishlegs stared at it with wide eyes. "Wow…" was all he said. He then examined the ground and got on his knees to have a better look. He carefully picked up a dragon scale and brushed it lightly with the tips of his fingers.

"It's too light and thin to be a Boulder type dragon." He looked at the rest scattered everywhere. "It must've came down pretty hard."

He dug his palms beneath the sand, searching for any more clues. Aside from more scales and some twigs, he stopped after feeling something long and thick. After he picked it up, he found himself holding a long, old rope. It looked like it had been there for a few years, judging by how wrinkled and abused it looked. He jerked the rope, which caused it to move like a wave, revealing the rest of the line.

"It's a net." He said mostly to himself. The net ended with several heavy stones, which Fishlegs thought were regular rocks until now. "Someone tried to catch the dragon…" He said, finally realizing what had probably happened.

Astrid breathed out nervously. Was that how that man caught that dragon? Or did someone else try to catch the black beast himself?

Fishlegs moved on to the edge where the cove was visible and released a sigh of astonishment, but after looking down, he scrambled back and gripped the grass. "Is… is there, maybe… another way down?" He asked nervously.

Sighing, Astrid turned and led the way, "Yeah. I'm not sure you'll fit, though…"

.

"On my mark!" Astrid called from the other side, hands on the shield blocking Fishleg's way.

She had been right. Her friend was too big to pass under the item, so they had to remove it… or try to, anyways.

"Now!" cried out and started pulling as Fishlegs pushed the shield with his shoulder. Astrid planted her feet on both sides of the wall and jerked her head back, trying desperately to remove the stubborn shield.

With both their powers combined, the shield slipped out and Astrid was sent flying backwards with the item still in hand, landing harshly on her back. "Yes!" She yelled after seeing the shield in her grip.

"Problems – Problems!" Fishlegs screamed. Astrid groaned in frustration.

Fishlegs had managed to lodge himself in between the two walls. "Help…"

Astrid slapped herself. This was going to be a long day. "Alright, one more time now..."

She grabbed his arms and pulled.

"Suck it in, Legs!"

"I'm… trying…"

Fishlegs slipped out with a loud pop and landed face down on the grass. He felt something move under him.

" _G… Get… off… me…"_

He suddenly rolled off of poor, out of breath Astrid. She inhaled deeply and her eyes were forced wide open as her friend spilled out apologies.

She sat up and rubbed her sore back. "Never mind that… Just, look for stuff, or whatever."

He immediately got up and scampered away.

Having a moment to rest, she plopped back down and looked up at the sky as thin swirls of white clouds slowly moved away, exposing the sun. It wasn't too hot, but it gave just enough light and warmth as it shone against her face. She hardly had moments like this. Moments to breakdown her bearers and just be herself without anyone judging her.

Just a few moments…

"Astrid!"

Well, goodbye, sweet moments.

"Astrid, look!"

Sighing, she got up and ran over to him. When she made it, she noticed piles of wood had been collected and placed in one spot, surrounded by small stones. The wood was black and had a smoky smell.

"That wasn't there yesterday…" Astrid noted.

"That's because it's new!" Fishlegs said. He hovered his hand over it, feeling the heat still radiating from it. Nearby was a stick covered with flies. The boy nervously picked the clean end of it, keeping it as far away from his body as possible. It smelled like rotten fish.

Someone must've cooked a fish here.

Astrid's heart almost stopped. She suddenly felt like she was being watched.

A loud crash was heard, followed by screeches and harsh shrieks.

Both Vikings snapped their heads towards the sound. Out of nowhere, two Deadly Nadders burst through the thick bushes from above and rolled down into the cove, tangled together by their talons. A third, green colored one flew down after them.

Fishlegs screamed in surprised and backed away while Astrid instinctively reached for her axe, but the three dragons didn't even notice them.

The two unlatched from each other and the blue one swiftly turned to make an escape, but the green one caught up and blocked its way. As the blue one attempted to fly over the green dragon, the bigger, purple one behind it flew a bit, dug its claws into the blue's back and smashed the lighter colored dragon into the ground, causing the blue dragon to release a shriek of pain as all the air in its lunges was forced out.

"We – We should get out of here!" Fishlegs said quickly and ran for the exit, leaving Astrid to watch the battle.

The blue dragon was much smaller than the other two and had a lot of bleeding scratch marks and open wounds. It also had patches of missing scale, a result of them being torn off from the fights.

She kind of felt sorry for it…

The blue dragon flipped over, causing the one on top to release, and kicked the purple dragon's lower jaw with its clawed feet. The blue one hissed and opened its wings to make itself look bigger, but no matter what it did the purple on was much bigger.

The green one saw an opportunity and scrapped the blue one with its claws, adding more injuries.

Astrid clinched her fists. This wasn't a fair.

Watching two big dragons pick on the smaller, weaker one felt so wrong.

Why were bullies stronger? Why couldn't they just leave everyone else alone?

It was almost like the times when the chief's son got bullied, yet, no one did anything to help the poor weakling. She remembered standing there, unmoving as the boy was humiliated in front of everyone. She wasn't supposed to interfere, right? He wasn't her priority.

She was just as bad as the bullies.

A desperate cry brought her back to reality. Sand blew everywhere when the blue Nadder hit the ground, falling on its side. It panted heavily as the two stood over it.

" _Stop it!"_

Astrid's axe landed only inches away from the dragons, but it was close enough to startle them. As soon as the bigger Nadders saw the axe, they abandoned their victim and flew for cover into the woods.

Arm still in throwing position, she let it drop after realizing what she had done. Her heart refused to slow down and her throat hurt after her sudden outburst.

Why did she…?

Shaking her head, she stepped closer to the half beaten dragon and retrieved her axe. The dragon did not run. It remained there, panting and hurt. Astrid brought her axe over her shoulder and saw the dragon clinch its belly, releasing a pathetic whimper. It looked at her with half led, tired eyes.

For once, the Viking didn't see this creature as a mindless monster.

It felt pain.

It felt fear.

It had emotion.

The blue dragon closed its eyes and looked away, excepting its fate and waiting for the axe to cut its head off.

Astrid had killed many dragons before, yet, she couldn't bring herself to end this Nadder's life…

Sighing, she turned around and walked away, leaving a confused Nadder behind.

The green eyes hidden in the shadows of the trees never stopped watching her.

 **Lol I think everyone knows who that blue Nadder is :D**

 **Doesn't that last bit remind you of something…? X3**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

As the workers made themselves busy fixing the Arena, the rest of the Vikings gathered around the docks, watching impatiently as Trader Johann slowly pulled to a stop.

"Ahh, good old Berk, haven't been here in a while."

The Vikings shoved each other, one was accidently pushed off and landed in the water with a loud splash.

"Settle down – settle down." Johann laughed, holding up his hands to prevent being bumped into.

The chief patted the trader's shoulder, "It's good to see you back."

"Likewise, Chief Stoick." Johann said, drawing a circle in the air with his finger. "And how has Berk been doing?"

Stoick sighed and tugged at his red beard, "Not too well, unfortunately."

"Oh? How so?"

"That damn Night Fury is back." The chief lowered his voce at the mention of the dragon's name.

"Oh, my." The trader looked down, then his eyes widened and looked back at the Chief again, "Did you get a good look at it?"

The Chief looked at him, puzzled.

Fishlegs ran by excitedly to Johann's ship and shoveled up items that did not interest him until he found what he was looking for. The bags of vegetable seeds lay there in a messy basket. Because of the frequent dragon attacks, most of their harvests burned to ashes. Fishlegs happily grabbed the bag. This would help his father grow some food for the village.

"It could have been the Dragon Conqueror."

Fishlegs heard the trader say.

The Chief raised his eyebrow, "Never heard of that dragon, but I'm sure it was a Night Fury."

"No, no – that's not what I meant… Oh…" The trader seemed to realize something, "It seems you haven't heard of him."

"Him?" Stoick asked, obviously confused but interested.

"He is called by many names, the Dragon Conqueror, the Dragon Master, the Dragon Tamer, and the Dragon King!" Johann threw out his hands to add more effect, "Almost every island I visited talked about him. They say he is dressed in black armor and wields a sword of flames! He has this strange power to control dragons, and rides on a Night Fury!"

Fishlegs, after hearing the trader's story, shivered. A man with so much power, and he uses it to control dragons?

"That's preposterous!" Stoick yelled, "Do you honestly want me to believe that?"

"Believe what you want to believe, Chief," Johann said, "but everyone seems to think he's real."

After picking out another bag of seeds, something caught Fishlegs's attention. A jar was abandoned at the bottom of the basket. Placing the bags aside, the chubby man picked up the jar, turning it to have a look at what was inside. He suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"Trader Johann," Fishlegs hurried over to him, still holding the jar, "Where did you find these?" he pointed at the jar's continents through the glass.

Johann smiled, "Why, those are Night Fury scales." He said proudly, "Someone collected them after the Dragon Master landed on their island."

Fishlegs lost his grip and the jar fell and shattered, spreading the black dragon scales around.

.

Astrid blew at the piece of well cooked chicken lightly before sinking her teeth into it. Her mother finished her drink and slumped back in her chair.

"You're awfully quite today. Did something happen?" Her mother asked, resting her head on her hand as she leaned against the table with her elbow.

Astrid stopped then placed the chicken back on the plate. Her mother was obviously trying to imply something, but Astrid still couldn't understand what it was. So she decided to act stupid. Maybe her Mama will give her a better hint?

"No, why?"

Her mother let out a half sigh, half laugh. "Alright then. Let's try something else." She crossed her arms and leaned back. "Have you thought of visiting other tribes, dear?"

Astrid suddenly chocked on her drink, "Mama!"

A chuckle was heard as her father entered the room and patted his daughters head as he passed by.

"Let's face it – you won't find a responsible man here." Her mother said, giggling slightly.

Astrid pouted, "I don't _need_ a man."

"I know, dear, I know. But I was hoping you'd find someone who would make you happy." She said while cleaning her fork with a napkin, "But I see now there is no one on this island meant for you. Shame, really."

Astrid sighed, "Mama, I can take care of myself, you know."

"Oh, we all know that." She winked at her, "But I was hoping for some grandbabies right about now."

Her daughter went bright red.

Both parents laughed heartedly.

"Oh, leave her be." Her father said, still laughing.

"Yes, well," Her mother's laughter eased, and her happy smile got replaced by a sad one, "with all these dragons, I don't think Berk is a safe place for raising children anymore."

Dragons…

Staring at her torn up food, the young warrior couldn't get her mind off of that Nadder.

.

Quietly peeking at the cove, Astrid slowly tiptoed in, her eyes searching for any movement as she held on to the piece of chicken leftover from dinner. What was she doing here, anyways? Looking for that dragon?

This was stupid…

The dragon probably died from its injuries or flew away.

So why was she hoping to find it?

The cove was quite, aside from the sound of fish plashing in the water and the buzzing of bugs flying. She relaxed when it seemed that the place didn't contain any dragons.

She felt… disappointed?

She plopped down next to the pond. A dragonfly lightly taped the water's surfacing, causing waves of circular repels. When the water stilled, Astrid saw her reflection as well as the white, beautiful clouds in the background. They sky was so pretty.

Oh, how she wished to get up high, away from her troubles and into a wonderland through the clouds. What did clouds feel like? Was it even possible to touch them?

She smiled at her reflection, and it smiled back, and the dragon's reflection tilted its head –

"OH GODS!" Astrid shouted and jerked sideways, avoiding falling into the pond in front of her and bumping the startled Nadder behind her.

She landed on her side and clawed the grass to move away, plucking out the grass from the soil.

The blue Deadly Nadder shrunk back in fear, making apologetic croons with its spikes flat against its body as it lowered its head close to the ground.

She reached for her axe, but as soon as she grabbed it, the dragon wrapped its tail around itself, the tip of its tail shaking like a rattle as it looked fearfully at the weapon.

Astrid felt the world spin when she noticed the white wrappings covering the dragon. The Nadder had bindings around its neck, midsection, right leg and tail.

The axe fell from her hand.

Someone fixed the dragon up…

She held her head between her hands, but the world didn't stop spinning.

The black dragon with a rider, then the Terror retrieving her axe, and now a Nadder that let a human treat its wounds…

Somehow, that armored man must have had something to do with what was going on.

The Nadder whimpered, looking at the piece of chicken leg near the Viking's foot then back at the girl. Astrid picked the chicken up. The dragon obviously wanted it, but was too scared to get close. Taking a deep breath, Astrid stretched out her arm, presenting the food to the dragon. After seeing no violent behaviors from the human, the Nadder slowly uncurled itself and took a step closer, keeping its head low.

"It's okay," She assured, "it's okay, it's for you."

The dragon carefully pinched the tip of the chicken leg in its mouth and took it like a parrot taking a seed.

"That's it," Astrid released the leg, and the dragon stepped away.

It turned its head sideways to look at the human, and then threw its head back, swallowing the chicken leg with a loud gulp. It shook its head happily, spreading out its colorful wings in delight. It turned to Astrid, tilting its head at her. It purred loudly as it walked closer, in which Astrid responded by backing away.

"No, no – that's all I had! Wait, stop! Get… Get back!"

No matter how far she backed up, the dragon got closer, still purring. Astrid held out her hands to stop the dragon's head from touching her, only to have the dragon lick it, leaving her hands wet with slobber.

It licked her… It freaking licked her!

Astrid stood still as the dragon continued licking her palm. She had seen dragons bite people, eat limbs, breath fire.

Seeing a dragon lick her hands tenderly was the most astonishing thing she had ever seen.

It stopped and leaned into her open palm, purring even louder when its snout touched the Viking's hands. Astrid felt out of breath as she felt the dragon's hot scales vibrate. She bravely brushed her left hand up the dragon's horn while the other touched the Nadder's lower jaw, and the creature let her.

It leaned down, bumping its horn slightly against Astrid's head. The Viking relaxed and rested her head against the dragon's horn, feeling hot air puff out of its nostrils.

This was not a monster.

This was not a killing machine.

This was not what she believed dragons truly were.

This was a gentle, lovable creature.

And all she needed to do was put down the axe to see it…

* * *

 **Well, isn't that just the cutest thing? :3 I wanted Astrid to find the gentle side of dragons on her own. I know this chapter is a bit short, but I needed this chapter to be a peaceful one because the next chapter… won't be so gentle lol**

 **Lol I love how the Nadder presented herself in this chapter XD So sneaky.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Fat people shoved and bumped each other carelessly, not bothering to apologize to one another as they continued plucking the best fruits on sale placed in piles. However, no matter how many times the girl got shouldered by hypnotized Vikings the size of bears, she simply let it happen, which disturbed some folk. Normally, Astrid would have snapped at anyone how might have bothered her, so seeing her unfocused while shopping for her mother in the market was… unusual.

She bumped into a chubby woman's stomach by mistake. The lady was clearly about to curse at her until she recognized Astrid, she automatically switched to a gentle tone and was about to apologize, but stopped when she saw that the girl hadn't even looked up at her.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked. That seemed to snap Astrid back to reality.

"Oh, yeah – I'm… I'm fine." She stepped to the side and avoided the strange stare the woman was giving her.

Even through the constant noise of shouting Vikings and barrels rolling, and the stench of sweat and newly caught fish, she still couldn't get that dragon out of her head. The way it plucked the chicken from her hand, the way it gently interacted with her, the way it absorbed her simple affection and simple touches.

She had never seen such a peaceful animal. Yet, she had killed so many of its kind. She chopped off their heads, drained the blood from their bodies, and ended their lives in the most terrifying way possible. There _had_ to be another way to save her people. After encountering the Nadder in the cove, she wasn't sure it was possible for her to kill another dragon without recalling what she saw.

"Everything alright, Miss?"

Astrid snapped back, only now realizing that she had been standing in front of the apple seller for a while. She gave a fake smile and nodded. The seller didn't seem to buy it but didn't bother commenting. Astrid picked out the brightest, shiniest apples and placed them in her basket that dangled from her arm. As she counted the money between her fingers, a strange, noticeably tall figure stepped next to her. The person was in a long, dirty brown cloak that reached all the way down to his feet, with a hoodie over his head. She saw his thick, leather boot sticking out at the bottom, and some reddish-brown hair sticking out the front of his hoodie. His frame was thin, unlike the rounded bellies most Vikings had. All in all, he stood out like a sore thumb.

He reached out with a gloved hand to grab an apple, but quickly retreated just in time as the seller slammed his hammer down next to that particular fruit.

"What do you think you are doing, boy?" The seller growled as he eyed the man.

"Oh, you know… _trying_ to buy some food?"

His voice surprised Astrid. She wasn't expecting such a voice from a man with such heavy atmosphere around him. Judging by the look on the seller's face, he too, seemed taken aback.

"You seemed friendly, until you decided to crush my hand, that is." He said, holding out his hand and wiggled his fingers.

The seller glared at him, bushy eyebrows forming a V shape over his eyes.

"What's with all the hostility?" The man moved his shoulders as he talked, "It's like wherever I go…" He motioned around him with his hand, "everyone just _assumes_ I'm a spy and… you know, try to kill me." He gestured to himself by placing his hands on his chest.

Astrid blinked. The way he talked and moved seemed so… familiar… Where had she seen that before?

He talked so carefree and full of humor.

The seller scowled, "Where are you from, foreigner? You're obviously not from Berk."

"Great observation skills you got there." The hooded man said, a little too cheerfully while holding out a finger pointing to the sky as if that piece of information was a big revelation. Astrid couldn't figure out if he was being serious or not.

"Well, you're not a Viking, that's for sure." The seller added.

"Not the first time I heard that…" He muttered to himself quietly, but Astrid, being closer to him, heard and raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"And you're _weak_."

" _Thank you_ for pointing that out." The man leaned his elbow against a fruit cart next to him and sighed, "I'm just a traveller, nothing more, nothing less. Now can I _please_ have some food?"

The seller sighed and waved his hand, gesturing for him to pick an apple.

Astrid couldn't look away from the man. The way he talked, the way he couldn't stay still while standing. She flinched when a hand was placed on her shoulder. The man immediately removed his hand."Wah, hi now!" He held up his hands, showing that he meant no harm. "Just wanted to know where I can find some bread, that's all."

Now facing her, she took a good look at his face. His nose, mouth and chin were covered with a grey scarf, but his green eyes were exposed and were looking down at her. The way he looked at her felt like he could reach out and grab her soul. They were so gentle, friendly and harmless it reminded her of…

…of someone she wished she got to know better.

He waved his hand at her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. He chuckled slightly, "Bread?" he asked, slightly amused.

Sighing, she pointed to a chubby woman at a cart far away.

"Ahh, thanks." He gave her his back and was about to leave, but stopped after a few steps and turned to the seller. "You might want to close up early, heard there's a storm coming."

"Get going, will you." The seller grumbled, not liking the thought of the foreigner spending any more time near him. The man shrugged and walked away, yelling "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Atsrid looked up. Indeed, the grey clouds were on their way, but the wind was stable and nobody informed her about a storm. Maybe it was just rain? But why warn them about something so simple?

And why did it feel like he wasn't talking about the weather…

.

Stoick rubbed the space between his eyebrows. After Fishlegs informed him that the Night Fury scales in the jar were identical to the ones he found in the cove with Astrid, the chief started to wander. Was the black dragon Astrid had seen in the cove the Night Fury? If so, why didn't it kill her when it had the chance? Was it at a disadvantage at daytime and wasn't able to attack?

It had been hiding in Raven Point the whole time? That would explain why it attacked solo.

Approaching the Arena, he found Gobber tiredly limping his way to get to him.

"Well, I measured the hole, just need to get some things fixed." Stoick sighed. At this rate, Berk wouldn't stand a chance against any attacks. Something small, cold and wet landed above his eyebrow. He wiped it away with his massive hand, only to have another one land on his arm.

Rain.

The dark, thick clouds raced above with the speed of sloths. Great, just what he needed… can the day get any gloomier?

The alarm horn blew.

The Vikings halted, the Thorston twins stopped yak tipping, Fishlegs released the boats line, Snotlout dropped his drink, Gobber stopped in his tracks, Astrid dropped her shopping basket, Stoick gripped his axe…

And they all looked up.

The giant mass of dragons in the sky formed a huge blanket as they invaded Berk's skies. They skillfully maneuvered passed each other, tilting their wings and riding the wind.

" _Dragon raid!"_

Acting by instinct, the warriors plucked out the nearest weapon around, the mothers carried their children away, and Gobber brought out every finished, half-finished, and unfinished weapon he had in the forge. Astrid grabbed her axe. Her father and mother ran by, holding axes of their own. "Best of luck to you, my dear!" She heard her father yelled.

When the dragons got closer, Astrid felt her chest weigh down suddenly. This was not a normal attack… by the looks of other Vikings, it was clear she wasn't the only one to notice.

There were too many… _way_ too many.

The air stiffened when the dragons got closer to the ground.

The two sides met when they both released their battle cries… and they clashed.

Astrid dodged a string of fire and blocked a Nightmare's claw attack. It tried to chomp her head, but she threw herself to the ground, rolled on her side and kicked the dragon's head, jerking its head to the side. That was enough time for her father to slam his boot atop the Nightmare's head, knocking it down. He held it to the ground and brought the axe down to its long neck. Astrid, surprisingly, flinched and looked away after hearing the chop.

What was happening to her? She was used to killing… so why was it so hard now?

A man nearby released his bow, firing an arrow at a random Zippleback, striking it in the chest. It stopped flapping its wings and went down headfirst, crashing into a watchtower. The tower creaked, losing a few important wooden pieces to keep it upright as they fell along with the dragon. The animal's right head was unconscious while the other gasped for breath.

The tower leaned to one side. A snap was heard and the tower lost a leg because of the uneven weigh it held at the top. A small boy, traumatized by what was going on around him, was too scared to move. As soon as he realized where the tower was about to fall, he cried and curled up in a ball. Chubby arms hurriedly picked him up and tossed him aside, out of harm's way, and the building crashed into the ground.

Fishlegs breathed in relief at how close that was. He turned to the boy who looked at him in confusion, picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder before running for safety.

A Gronckle slammed its head against a Viking's body, sending the man crashing against Astrid. The man lost consciousness and his spear rolled out of his hand as Astrid wriggled herself out from beneath the fat man.

She heard the Boulder dragon growl and fly towards her. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the nearby spear and aimed it at the dragon. She suddenly gasped at what she had done, but the weapon scrapped the dragon beneath its left eye, startling it and causing it to change directing. Another Viking saw the opportunity and stabbed its side, but the weapon got stuck halfway in because of the dragon's thick scales. It took flight with the blade still stuck to its body and flew up high.

Astrid looked around her with wide eyes, filled with terror. Bodies of lifeless Vikings and dragons lay scattered on the battlefield. The place decorated with both human and monster blood. Torn clothes flew in the air, along with the familiar stench of death and smoke. The sounds and cries were muffled as she absorbed her environment.

 _What was the point of all this?_

She gazed into the still open eyes of a dead child…

 _Was it worth it?_

Puddles of water splashed as it was hit by rain, Viking boots, and dragon claws.

 _Was there an end at all?_

A dragon screeched in agony as a sword cut through its body, piercing its insides.

 _Was this really the only answer?_

A woman screamed when a Nightmare fired at her.

 _Stop it…_

A Viking fell.

 _Please… Stop…_

A dragon fell.

 _Please… no more…_

The battle went on.

In all her years of killing dragons and watching people _get_ killed, she had never once cried.

She was crying.

Her vision blurred. Her watery eyes blinded her from the horror around her as the tears and rain ran down her face. She dropped down, covering her ankles with mud.

 _It was pointless after all._

In her unprotected state, a dragon took the chance to approach her. Hearing the wet squelching footsteps, Astrid rubbed her eyes clean with her arm, and saw a purple Nadder staring at her. It wasn't just any purple Nadder, by the way it looked at her it was the Nadder that attacked her blue, lovable dragon back at the cove.

Before Astrid could get up, the Nadder turned to the side and slapped her above her hip with its spiked tail, sending Astrid flying and slamming her back against the remains of a burned down house. She flinched and winced in pain at the stinging, burning sensation in her side. She clutched the injury and blinked a few tears away, watching the dragon charge up for a finishing attack. Its throat glowing orange as it prepared to fire.

 _It was all pointless…_

The dragon fired, and Astrid saw nothing but darkness.

Her side still hurt. Why did it hurt? Wasn't she supposed to be dead?

Two glowing, yellow eyes looked down at her. Unwrapping its wings, the blue Nadder sniffed her in concern. Astrid noticed black smoke coming from the Nadder's back and some of the wrappings had burned off, showing the dragon's scares.

It saved her.

It blocked the attack with its own body and saved her.

Still in pain, Astrid held a shaky, blood-covered hand to the dragon's snout, smearing her blood there.

"Thank you…" She breathed out tiredly, sliding her hand off, leaving behind a red handprint.

The blue Nadder turned to the purple one and charged. The purple one hissed and charged up a shoot in its throat. It opened its mouth and was about to shoot, but the blue one fired first, aiming directly into the purple dragon's already open mouth. It screeched as its attack backfired in its throat, burping out black smoke as it slowly recovered from what had happened.

The blue Nadder, however, didn't give it a chance. It pounced at its opponent, knocking it down and exposing its underside. Astrid could only imagine what happened as she heard the purple Nadder release a blood-curdling cry when the blue Nadder attacked its neck. The purple Nadder stopped kicking and remained still on the wet ground. The blue Nadder huffed before turning to Astrid with blood dripping from its chin. It circled around her, wrapping its tail around her and used its wing to shield her from view of any other dragon.

Astrid started shivering. Her hair stuck to her head and her clothes were drenched. The Nadder nudged her head lightly, making whimpering noises.

"I'm… I'm okay…" She whispered. Using whatever strength she had, she gazed down, only to find her thick blood seeping from between her fingers where her hand was pressed against her side. The red liquid ran down her body in long strings towards the ground.

The Nadder made a grumbling sound. Astrid looked up at her friend, finding her staring at the rainy sky. Astrid followed its gaze.

About twelve Zipplebacks circled the skies, spreading green gas as they flew. Almost every dragon was fighting near the ground, so what were those dragons doing up so high? By the time they decided to come back down, the whole sky had turned green. A black shape speeded across the sky, firing a blast at the green clouds as it zoomed away. As soon as the ball of fire made contact with the gas, the sky exploded, turning the gas into light and fire before quickly dying out, leaving pitch black smoke. The sound of the explosion was only seconds after the blinding light, startling everyone on Berk, including the dragons. The sound felt more like a sonic boom straight into everyone's ears, leaving them temporarily deaf.

The air seemed suddenly much hotter. Both Vikings and dragons turned to look at the sky. The black speck flew passed their heads and landed on a watch tower. The black dragon, sitting atop the upside-down V shaped roof of the tower glared down at them with glowing green eyes as grey smoke escaped from the corners of its half open mouth, revealing its pink gums and triangle teeth. Its tail curled around the tower for extra grip.

All looked up at it and at what was sitting atop the mighty Night Fury.

Stoick couldn't believe it…

Astrid's eyes widened. It was _him_ …

The armored rider clicked his sword, setting the blade on fire, and pointed to the black sky above. He did a slow, circular motion with his sword. The cloud of smoke started to spin. He spun his sword above his head faster, creating a small fiery tornado over his head. The clouds spun faster, and Astrid was sure she saw parts of wings and clawed feet sticking out from the smoke. The rider stopped his sword, and pointed forward.

The clouds stopped spinning, and dragons emerged from the darkness, falling from the sky.

There were so many and so close together there was hardly any space between each dragon. There were even dragons Berk has never seen before. The dragons on the ground abandoned the Vikings and flew directly to the other team of dragons flying head down for them.

And the two teams collided in the air.

"Odin's beard…" Stoick breathed, looking up at the battle in the sky. He had never seen such a thing happen before. Every Viking gazed up at the strange phenomenon.

The rider tapped the Night Fury's side, and the dragon leaped off the roof and flew towards the battle. He placed his sword back and reached for two black blades attached to his hips as his black dragon dodged through blasts, clashing dragons and falling bodies.

A Thunderdrum roared, clearing the way for its teammate to pass through. The rider clicked his dragon's manmade tailfin in place and leaped off the dragon. He used his blades to hook on to a Nadder's head and pulled himself up. Standing on the irritated dragon, he grabbed the horns on its head and steered the dragon to a crowded area. He released and jumped off before the Nadder collided with a bunch of Gronckles and Zipplebacks, causing them to release one of his Timberjacks.

The Night Fury caught his rider by the arms with his front paws. His human, facing backwards, spotted a group of dragon headed their way. He swung his leg and peg leg until the Night Fury's belly was too close too his face, then kicked up with his leg, hitting the lever that controlled the prosthetic tailfin. It clicked and the dragon, noticing the change in flight manners looked down at his rider in confusion, but found himself staring at the back of his riders head.

"Up!" The man ordered, and the dragon looked up and started flying higher, still holding on to his friend while the dragons chased after them.

"Now!"

Obeying the command, the Night Fury threw his head back and threw his rider up. As the man turned and started freefalling, his dragon shot down at the line of dragons chasing after them, knocking them and slowing them down as the black dragon passed by them. The rider stuck out his blades as he fell head first towards the dragons below. His left weapon sliced a dragon's side, the jolt from the impact from the side caused the man's body to spin as he continued falling, cutting his way through the mass of dragons. The injured dragons yelped and retreated.

The Night Fury flew down next to the man. The rider placed his blades back and reattached himself to his dragon's saddle, adjusted the tailfin and pulled up. The dragon threw out his wings to break the fall and started to glide out of the battle.

On the ground, still in the Nadder's wings, Astrid looked up with half open eyes as the first team of dragons retreated, leaving Berk. The rider and his dragons won. Her side tingled and stung whenever she breathed. It got harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Maybe sleeping would ease the pain? Yeah, maybe… just a nape…

She couldn't tell, but for a second, she saw the black dragon land in front of her and the blurred shape of the rider dismounting and running towards her… He kneeled and was face to face with her… he was so close, she saw his concerned green eyes through the slits of his mask as he looked her in the eyes…

.

It was dark.

Her side burned… it was a as if she was being eaten alive by insects. She blindly reached down to hold her aching side, only to be stopped by a gentle hand carefully grabbing hers. Someone brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

It still hurt…

She forced her eyes open and was greeted by blurry vision. She tried to look down at her side, but only managed to see smudged colors and some movements around the room. It took her a while to realize that she was on a bed with her clothes moved and her skirt and leggings pulled down just enough to expose her torn side. She managed to make out a random, wrinkly hand pock her sensitive skin, adding more to the pain. She winced and tried to slap the hand away, but the much stronger hand still holding hers prevented her from doing so. Agitated, she whined in protest and tossed her head to the side.

Another strong hand was placed over her eyes, blocking her view.

" _It's okay. I know it hurts – it'll be over soon."_

What? Who was that? She heard that voice before…

Wait… The hooded man! It was definitely his voice.

" _Alright. We are almost done,"_

It was a lady's voice this time, but her voice was unfamiliar. A sudden pinch in her said made her gasp. The hand holding hers gently rubbed her hand with his thumb, trying to distract her from the pain.

" _There – with some rest, your wife will be just fine."_ She heard the woman say.

" _Thanks. I don't what I would do if I lost her."_ The man sighed in relief.

" _She's lucky to have such a caring husband. I'm kind of jealous, honestly."_ The woman said as Astrid felt something wrap around her, covering up the wound.

" _I'm lucky to have her."_ The man chuckled. She felt head face get closer. She suddenly felt sleepy again.

" _Sweet dreams, M'lady."_

* * *

 **Badass to the max! :D**

 **Finally, you have no idea how hard this chapter was. Not only was it long, but I hand a brain splitting headache the whole day, which slowed me down. Not to mention our air conditioner broke down, which is unbearable considering that we live in a desert, and my parents don't seem to care about it no matter how many times my brother and I complain.**

 **I was about to cut the chapter in half, but I had no idea where to split the chapter… This was one whole battle and I couldn't just cut it D:**

 **Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, guys! :3 It's always nice to know so many people enjoy this story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Astrid forced her tired eyes open and was greeted by bright light. She blinked to clear up her vision and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She was laid out on a comfortable, warm bed. Her head was resting on a fat, fluffy pillow. Her body was covered with a red blanket with decorative yellow stitches of dragons. The window nearby was open, allowing fresh air and the smell of wet grass into the room. The window had two red fabrics hanging from the sides with some dragon stitches at the bottom.

Sitting up, the blanket fell from her chest. The act sent sharp stings into her side. She winced and clutched at it. Lifting her shirt up, she found her midsection wrapped up in white bindings. She sighed and dangled her bare feet at the edge of the bed. Next to the bed was a wooden, square shaped table. On it was a flask of something, and a wooden, black painted statue of a Night Fury sitting on a rock. At the corner of the room was desk with scattered papers everywhere and stacked up books.

Taking a deep breath, Astrid stood up, trying her best to ignore the uncomfortable pinching in her side. She pressed a hand to her side and limped to the desk. Almost all of them where drawings of dragons, the rest were sketches of what looked like swords and some strange looking equipment. The drawing style looked so familiar…

Realization struck her. The dragon drawings looked exactly like the ones in Hiccup's book. She was right, they looked identical.

What was the meaning of this?

She heard a squawk and a few thumps at the door. Could it be? Astrid limped to the door and swung it open. The blue Nadder chirped and wiggled its head in happiness before Astrid released her aching side and open her arms. The Nadder gladly nuzzled its head in her arms as the Viking hugged her. Upon closer inspection, Astrid saw that her dragon's wrappings had been replaced with new ones. Who…?

Just then, everything came rushing back. The war, the Night Fury, the Dragon Rider…

The Dragon Rider! He was the hooded man she saw. He was also the last thing she saw before blacking out. Where _was_ she, anyways? How did she get here? Deciding standing around won't answer anything, she, along with her dragon, abandoned the room in search of an exit. The place was huge. It was almost two stories tall and had multiple large sized rooms. She limped down the curved stairs. Along the way, she noticed the colorful paintings of dragons hung up against the walls. When she reached the bottom of the stair, she found her boots placed next to a door, as if someone was expecting her to come. Leaning against the wall, she slipped her feet into her boots. She heard a small chirp. Her Nadder flinched and tilted her head at the door. The cute chirp was heard again. It was coming from outside? Astrid pulled the door open, and froze at the sight.

Everything was green. The place looked like a grassy meadow, with tall grass and grazing yaks. Where was she? This didn't look like a place on Berk. She heard the chirp again. Her Nadder was looking down. When she followed her gaze, she found a yellow baby chick pecking at her feet. It chirped again and puffed out its tiny little feathers. Astrid kneeled down, ignoring the way her stitches pulled at her skin and threated to tear her flesh, and gently cupped the bird in her hand. It chirped and looked at her with shiny black dotes for eyes, its little pink feet cold against her skin.

Astrid carefully walked into the sunshine. There were empty animal pens nearby, suggesting that the animal were all loose. The sound of sheep brought her attention. She saw sheep huddled in a circular shape as they ran while weird looking, two-legged dragons surrounded them. They had small, clawed hands, long back legs, and a long tail with a stinger at the end. They lead the herd of sheep into a pen, and the biggest dragon of the group pushed the pen door close with its head after the last sheep scampered in.

Astrid blinked repeatedly. What was that? The creepy looking dragons acted like herding dogs instead of dragons!

Something nudged her foot. She turned to look, expecting a random farm animal, but found the black body of the Night Fury, its green eyes staring up at her. She gasped and accidently dropped the chick, but the black dragon quickly caught it with his head. The chick slipped down the dragon's head and disappeared under the long grass. Her fear subsided after she saw the Night Fury's eyes. They weren't slits like before, but wide, curious and friendly. It grumbled as it searched for the bird near its feet. Astrid's eyes widened when the dragon opened its mouth slightly, reveling bright pink gums as it lowered its snout down and gently collected the chirping chick in its still open mouth.

"Huh… You're toothless." As soon as she said that, the dragon looked at her with wide, innocent eyes while purring loudly. Astrid just stood there, not sure what the dragon meant. After it started walking away, Astrid suddenly realized she had been standing next to a Night Fury the whole time. Night Furies were known for being one of the most dangerous of all dragons. Yet, this one carried a baby chick in its mouth and walked away as if it was a normal thing to do.

She had to get answers, and what better way to get them than follow the Night Fury.

With her Nadder walking calmly behind her, she passed a few more farm animals including goats, yaks, and a great number of chickens. She saw the armored man kneeling down with a basket in hand. He had his back to her as he scooped up whatever was in the basket and sprinkled it around as the chickens swarmed around him, pecking at the ground. The Night Fury lowered his head, letting the baby chick go and reunite with the mother hen and the other chicks. The man turned the basket upside down, empting it and stood up.

"You should be in bed, young lady." He said with a hint of amusement in his voice. He turned to face her, showing that he still had his mask on. Astrid crossed her arms in front of her chest, holding a stern look on her face.

"Where am I?" She asked harshly.

"So demanding," The man chuckled slightly, shaking his head. That angered her slightly.

"Who are you?" She asked, still glaring at him.

"My name isn't important," He said, calmly.

The Night Fury yawned and stretched out his body, starting from his front claws to his tail, before he laid down, front legs crossed and back legs resting to the side like a cat as he watched his master with half closed eyes. The man scratched the dragon's head as he walked by. "Sleepy head," The man chuckled.

Astrid swallowed before continuing, "That's a Night Fury, isn't it?"

"Toothless? Yeah." The man said as he messed with the bags attached to his dragon's saddle.

Astrid raised an eyebrow at the dragon's name.

"Don't ask, called him that once, and it kind of stuck after that."

"Where am I?" She finally asked, secretly dreading what the man's replay might be.

"Somewhere," He said, simply.

This guy was driving her crazy. "I know _that_ , but _where_ exactly?" She almost yelled this time. Sensing her discomfort, the rider hung the bag over his shoulder and looked her in the eye.

"Let _me_ ask you something," Suddenly turning serious, he stepped closer, maybe a little too close to Astrid. "Do you want to keep killing dragons?"

Her world stopped. _Did_ she want to keep killing dragons? Was there any other way to deal with them besides killing them? After discovering her Nadder, was it even possible for her to hurt another dragon? She was always taught that they were mindless monsters, but she saw proof that that was not true. Her Nadder saved her… and near her was the Night Fury licking its front paw than using it to wipe at its face, acting more like a cat than a dragon.

"I… I don't..." She looked down after realizing that looking directly at his gaze was too much, "No." She finally said, shaking her head, "No. I don't… I can't."

Looking back at him, his eyes turned from determined to calm and relaxed. Why did she feel like she just passed a test?

"I used to be a Viking, you know." He said, looking down with sad eyes. He sat down and leaned his back against Toothless. This new information struck Astrid hard. This man looked nothing like a Viking! Not to mention he has a dragon as a pet.

"My village used to kill dragons, too." He sighed, "I couldn't kill a single dragon. After I met Toothless – yes, I know that's you, bud," He patted the Night Fury's snout when the dragon turned to look at him after hearing his name. "I looked at him, and I saw myself, and I knew… I didn't belong there."

Astrid looked at her Nadder. The dragon sniffed at a chicken on the ground. The bird flapped its wings lightly and landed on the Nadder's head. She remembered how she was so close to killing the beautiful dragon. The way it looked at her...

The man sighed and stood up, "Let's get you back inside." He gently touched her shoulders and guided her back towards the house. She tried to stop, "Wait, I'm not done yet! – Where am I? What's going – "

"Wah, slow down," He laughed slightly, "I'll tell you later, right now, you need to rest or else I'll get an earful from the healer."

He walked her back upstairs, holding her shoulders to support her along the way. She relaxed back down on the bed and the rider covered her with the red blanket. "Stay right there, I'll get you something to eat." He scratched the black dragon's head before leaving, "Keep an eye on her, bud." The dragon shook his head as he watched his friend leave.

Astrid just stared at the ceiling. Even though he looked menacing and powerful, after meeting him, he seemed like a gentle and funny guy. Though still demonic looking with all the armor on, he was friendly to her, and with the way he talked to his dragon, he seemed like a caring person in the inside. The Night Fury hoped onto a piece of rock placed in the corner and burned it as he circled, heating it before he curled up. Her Nadder slept like a bird, curled up in a ball with her beak lowered to her belly. The rider came back with a plat and a cup. He placed the plat on the table next to the bed, removed the flask to make room and replaced the spot with the cup. He had prepared a balanced meal for her. There were slices of fresh cooked cod, a slice of bread topped with an egg, and the rest of the plate was filled with vegetables and sliced pieces of apples. The cup had warm yak milk.

The man walked away and sat in front of his desk. He crossed his leg and unscrewed his prosthetic leg with a deep sigh, and placed it on his desk. He took a book and ripped out a piece of paper. Placing the book back, he brought out a charcoal pen and started scribbling on the paper. Realization struck her and the piece of apple fell from her mouth.

He drew those drawings… Those drawings looked exactly like the ones Hiccup drew… The auburn hair… Those green eyes… That attitude… That voice…

No… it couldn't be…

Her heart started beating faster and her stomach clinched. Her wound itched more than ever and her body seemed a hundred degrees hotter.

" _I used to be a Viking, you know."_

He gave her a clue. She remembered his words. The way he said it, voice full of sadness as he recalled bad memories.

He _was_ a Viking… but isn't anymore.

Focused on his drawing, he flipped up his mask in order to see better, exposing his face. Gulping, she quietly placed the plate aside and quietly got out of bed. She took carful steps, not wanting the floor to creek under her weight, and snuck up behind him. She stopped when he flinched after seeing her shadow on his desk.

He sighed, "You really want to know, don't you?" his voice was almost a whisper.

Astrid swallowed thickly, "Who are you…?"

He dropped his pen and reached for his helmet, slowly taking it off. "Should have guessed you'd figure it out eventually," He placed his helmet on his desk and faced her. His long, messy auburn hair and the stubble growing under his chin were the same color. His green eyes sadly stared at her. The small scar on his chin was proof of who this man used to be. There was no mistaking it… it was him. Astrid backed up in shock until her back bumped the wall behind her. All her energy left her body and her legs gave out. She dropped to the floor and her eyes watered for reasons she did not know. This was all too much… This couldn't be real…

His eyes looked directly at her as he gave her a gentle smile, "Hey, Astrid."

* * *

 **Wow thank you for all the reviews! You don't know how much I appreciate it :3**

 **Yes, he has farm animals. It's just… flying from one place to another just to get food seemed time consuming, so having a farm makes things a bit easier for him. And yes, he built his own home, with a little Hiccup flare to it XD**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Time stopped. Everything blurred and her body went numb. For some unknown reason, it got harder to breath. She heaved, forcing her lunges to work. Her face felt tingly as tears drew wet lines down her face. Her hands automatically cupped her half open mouth as she sucked in air deeply. Her mind searched for any sort of explanations for what was happening… She could be hallucinating, or this could simply be a dream.

But it wasn't. It was very much real.

There he was, the boy who vanished years ago, sitting in front of her, staring at her sadly. Even after being apart for many years, she still recognized this person. Even though his body went through transformations over the years, turning from boy to man, he was still himself. He was still the sensitive, caring, sarcastic boy inside. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. Grabbing his peg leg, he dusted off dirt from the bottom before screwing the fake body part back on.

"I, uh, I guess I have some explaining to do, huh?" He awkwardly chuckled, a failed attempt to lighten the mood. He stood up, walked over to her and offered his hand out to her to help her up. She reached out with a shaking hand and grabbed his, only to suddenly pull him down. He yelped and was about to complain but Astrid punched him in the gut, shoving out the air from his lungs. A thud was heard when her fist collided with his body, waking up the dragons.

"Oww! Way … _Why_ would you _do that_?" He asked between coughs, clutching his stomach. He paused after he saw the look on her face. She was biting her lower lip to prevent herself from screaming, her eyes were painfully red around the edges as she stared at him with a mighty rage. She threw her hand back, which caused Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the slap before it came. The hit was so hard, his head turned to the side, leaving a stinging, red handprint on his left cheek.

He released a breath he didn't know he was holding and rubbed the red spot. "Yeah… I guess I kind of deserved that…"

She clinched her fist and rammed it against his chest, accidently hitting a button which flapped open a fin on his back.

"Owwwkay… that one hurt…" He said breathlessly while winding up a circular object attached to his body, folding the fin back in place.

She hit him again, and again, and again.

"You _stupid, empty headed, mindless…_ " She screamed between punches.

At first, Hiccup tried to stop her, or at least, defend himself, but gave up after noticing her hitching and cracking voice. He relaxed his body, absorbing every hit as she lost strength each time she struck him. Her punches became lighter and weaker, her cheeks became pink.

"…Son of a half-troll… Rat eating… Munge bucket…"

Her hits became useless taps. He looked at her sympathetically as he endured her abuse. Her tears turned into waterfalls. She dropped her head down and used whatever energy left in her to punch him one more time, but only managed to tap his chest with her bruised knuckles before sliding her hand down in defeat, resting her hand on his lap as she choked out a cry.

"… you… you… _you hiccup_ …"

The last word felt like it cut through her throat. Her emotions battled against each other, anger and sadness got tangled together while fear, happiness, confusion and other emotions rammed the inside of her body, looking for any way out. Her brain felt like exploding as a headache started growing. She cried. She cried like a newborn baby. She didn't know what she was feeling or what was happening. Nothing made sense anymore. Nothing was logical.

" _Hiccup… Hiccup…"_

It was the only word her mind managed to form. It was the only thing correct at that moment. The dragons sat nearby, not sure what to do. They wanted to somehow interfere and help their saddened humans, but the interaction between the male and female human seemed like it was something that shouldn't be interrupted, so they watched.

" _Hiccup…_ "

Her voice had lowered, turning into a whisper as she ran out of strength. She felt him gently cup her hand between his, placing it where his heart was located. He pressed her palm there with one hand, and used the other to hold her chin and tilt her head up, forcing her to look at him. He gave a gentle smile, letting her know that he understood her… that he cared.

Yes, this was Hiccup, no doubt about it.

He carefully released her hand, and after he was sure her hand won't slip away from his chest, he placed both of his hands behind her shoulders and slowly pulled her towards him, encouraging her to come closer. Her brain refused to work, but her body responded by leaning on him, giving him full permission to wrap his arms around her. When was the last time she got hugged? When was the last time she craved affection? It never bothered her before, so why now? Warriors were supposed to be tough, not crying their eyes out after finding a long lost person. They were supposed to focus on the important tasks and not let any social dramas get in their way. They are strong and never ask for help, because asking for help is a sign of weakness, right?

But only here, in his arms, did she finally realize how lonely she had been.

Becoming a warrior was the only thing on her mind. She focused on training and forgot about her friends. She spent her days and nights axe throwing, and would come home to at least see her parents for a few minutes. She focused on killing dragons and ignored the humans around her. She focused on herself, and didn't care about anyone else. She gave up her happiness in exchange for success. She was the perfect Viking.

Now, she felt like nothing.

Giving up, she lurched herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck and screamed. The scream quickly turned into heart wrenching cries. With every breath released, she let out everything that had been bottled up inside. Her throat hurt, her chest hurt, but it didn't matter. Breathing in was a painful effort, but releasing it with a cry was worth it. The black dragon had his ears flat against his head as he lowered himself to the ground, making whimpering sounds. The Nadder wrapped her tail around herself, feeling useless as her master cried. Hiccup felt like his heart was being ripped out as he heard her sob close to his ear. He had never seen her act this way. No matter how badly he wanted her to stop, he knew she needed it. The way she cried felt like she had never cried before in her life and her emotions took this opportunity to finally relief her mind and body from stress held inside for many years.

* * *

 **I know this chapter is short, but the next will probably contain explanations between Hiccup and Astrid so I didn't want to add that to this part as this chapter is mostly emotions.**

 **We rarely got to see Astrid's soft side in the movies. Yeah, I know she's a tough character, but I believe she covered up her true self in order to be strong for others. In the first movie, she reveals her caring side to Hiccup after she found out who Hiccup** _ **really**_ **was after the romantic flight. She talked to him differently, more gently, and came to see him off before the Nighmare scene. In the second move, she's more mellow and relaxed around him. She can be tough when she needs to, but she can also be gentle. I like this balance, as it shows that she's an actual person, responding and reacting with emotions to words and actions.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Between the two Vikings, the environment around them didn't seem to exist anymore. As the sun decided to start retreating, its yellow light shone through the window, causing one side of the room to look brighter than the other. Dust became visible, still hovering in midair as it reacted to the sunlight. Toothless rubbed his head against his riders back, rumbling before curling up on the floor. He didn't sleep. He couldn't. How could he when his beloved master was so distressed? He wanted to do something, _anything_ to help his master, but Toothless was a dragon and couldn't fix human problems, so he tucked himself behind his human and rested there, eyes looking up at the open window, gazing at the color-changing sky.

When the tension seemed calm enough, the Nadder carefully approached her female human, lowering her head to be closer to Astrid's face, whimpering sadly as she nudged her shoulder. The human didn't look up, but gently placed a hand on the dragon's snout, letting her know that she was okay. The Nadder purred and sat down close to Astrid, who had her back against the wall, staring at nothing as her mind slowly recovered.

Haccip, after feeling the Night Fury's hot body behind him, leaned on his dragon as he sat facing Astrid with his bad leg stretched out in front of him, while his other leg was bent. Resting his right arm on his knee, he sighed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. This wasn't part of his plan, but he had expected something like this might happen. He wasn't supposed to bring Astrid here. He had planned to fix her up, and then return her without being noticed. But the healer instructed him to keep her in bed, fearing the wound might reopen and get infested. Knowing Astrid, she would take the first chance to run out the door, so he kept her. Now, he was facing the consequences. Out of all the people to discover his true identity, it _had_ to be his childhood crush…

He turned away, feeling too uncomfortable looking at her, and stared at his desk, sighing deeply. "Oh boy, where do I begin?" He threw his head beck, resting his head on the warm dragon. His voice brought her back to the real world. She fixed her eyes on him, taking in every detail of him, from movement and sound.

"Remember the time when… you know, back when we were just kids… there was this dragon raid, and…" He explained while gazing up at the ceiling as if he was looking at the sky. He pointed his hand up and slowly moved it to one side, reenacting what he had seen through his eyes back when he was still a teenager searching for the Night Fury in the sky. "and I said I caught a Night Fury?"

Astrid dug through her memories, and landed on the one he was talking about. She looked at the black dragon behind him and remembered that night. She remembered the boy talking as his father dragged him away.

" _It's not like the last few times, Dad! I mean I really, actually hit it! You guys were busy. I had a very clear shot. It went down off Raven Point."_

Raven Point... That's where she found the dragon scales, the net, the shield, the knife, and the book. It all made sense. He was telling the truth, but no one believed him, because he was a _runt_. He got scolded and embarrassed in front of the village, because he tried to do something to please his father.

Hand still pointing up, he clinched his fist, snapping his fingers shut, "I caught him." He said sadly before his hand went limp, dropping on his stomach. Still looking up, he continued, "I… back then, I thought I could kill him and bring his heart back to my father…"

She swallowed thickly. The thought of sweet, fragile _Hiccup_ cutting out a dragon's heart just to gain Stoick's approval was beyond depressing. The boy had shot down a _Night Fury_ , a dragon that had never been caught before, and was willing to kill it just to feel like he belonged.

"…but after I found Toothless, I just… didn't kill him. I…" He sighed, looking for the right words.

Astrid raised a brow, "Why didn't you?"

He lowered his head to look at her, mouth half-open.

"Anyone else would have done it, so why didn't _you_?" She asked curiously. He looked away, not sure how to answer. "Why didn't you?" She asked more gently.

He messed with a buckle attached to his armor, trying to calm his nerves by focusing part of his mind on something else. "I don't know." The buckle made a clinking sound as he tapped it with his fingernail. "I couldn't."

"That's not an answer." She said, shaking her head lightly.

"Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?" He released the buckle and gestured to her with his free hand

"Because I want to remember what you say right now." She said determinedly.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, "For the love of… I was a coward." He threw out his arms," I was weak," He curled his hands into fists and tapped them on his chest, gesturing to himself, "I wouldn't kill a dragon."

"You said _wouldn't_ that time." She pointed out.

He shook his head again, "Whatever – I wouldn't!" He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no right to threw tantrums like that. He was lucky Astrid hadn't snapped at him. "I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was." He lowered his hand and looked straight at her. "I looked at him… and I saw myself."

Astrid held her breath. She remembered the day her Nadder gazed at her with pleading eyes of a defeated warrior, willingly excepting her fate. The dragon fought with all her might, but no matter how strong she had been, in the end, it was obvious she had lost the fight both physically and mentally, and gave up, waiting for the Viking to end her life.

Astrid placed her hand flat on the Nadder's head. It purred softly under her touch. The young Viking suddenly understood what Hiccup meant.

"Looking back," He continued, "I still can't believe I was ready to kill my best friend… just so I can be a Viking in Dad's eyes."

Her heart shattered. Back then, she had always seen the clumsy Hiccup, the walking disaster. But now, she was seeing a different Hiccup. Rather than hiding or shying away from her, he confronted her about his true reasons why he wanted to kill a dragon so badly. He was just a boy in one big maze, trying desperately to avoid traps and obstacles while looking for a way to make his father proud.

Sadly, he kept bumping into dead-ends.

"What was I thinking?" He asked himself, looking down sadly, "Dad just… doesn't care about me." He blinked away the moister from his watery eyes, "He never will, because I'm a _hiccup_."

Astrid's mouth hung open in shock. It felt like the man was talking mostly to himself, admitting that he felt unloved and unwanted by his own father. In the past, it was regular to see Stoick scold his son after the boy messed something up, but she thought they had a simple father and son relationship in their home. It never crossed her mind that Stoick might have been scolding his son indoors, too. Was that why Hiccup spent his time in the woods? After thinking about it, it made sense. He had nowhere else to go. There was no place for him to feel safe and at home.

He had been suffering, and no one knew.

He chuckled nervously, "I wish I could go back to being a kid again… you know, back when we had fun together?"

She remembered. Back then, life was all about having fun. She was the most athletic child out of them, winning every race and punching Snotlout in the mouth because he would keep shut about how girls didn't play fair. She remembered the short, skinny boy who couldn't lift a small wooden sword, falling every time he tried. He lost almost every game, but didn't complain. Life was simple.

Until her mother started telling her bedtime stories about brave shield maidens. She believed that it was her destiny, and her parents encouraged her to follow her dreams. As she grew, so did her determination. She climbed high, leaving Hiccup behind.

While her path was crystal clear, Hiccup's fell apart.

"I miss those days," He whispered, "We used to be friends and Dad never thought of me as a failure. I guess, he thought I was just a small kid who would grow up to be a true Viking someday."

She saw a tear trickle down his face.

"I… I wish things stayed the same…' His voice cracked, "But… we stopped having fun, and… everyone left. Everyone… even Fishlegs…" He took a moment to breathe steadily. "I kept asking myself… just… _What did I do wrong?_ "

It took all Astrid's will power not to cry. Nothing was his fault. Yet, he blamed himself. He blamed himself for being alone. He blamed himself for getting bullied as everyone else grew, but he stayed small.

"Hiccup," she called softly, "the chief loved you." She said, trying to give him some hope, "He hasn't been the same after you disappeared."

He snorted and looked at her sadly, "You're wrong," he huffed, looking away, "He didn't love Hiccup the Useless, he loved the Hiccup how won first place in dragon training. He's not… _upset_ because I'm gone. He's disappointed because I _almost_ became a Viking."

No. No… this wasn't the reaction she was hoping for.

"I didn't belong on Berk… so I left." He sighed, "I guess I'm a coward for running away, but it was the only answer at the time." He shifted, his peg leg made a clicking sound when it tapped the floor, grabbing Astrid's attention.

He lost a leg. How did that happen? When did that happen? She suddenly felt like crying all over again.

Following her gaze, Hiccup realized what she was staring at. "Oh, this thing?" He tilted his fake leg, gesturing to it. "Oh boy…" He said, realizing he was about to explain how he got it. Sensing his discomfort, Astrid remained quiet and leaned against her Nadder.

"Where do I start…? You see, the day I let with Toothless," The dragon's ears perked up after hearing his name. Hiccup chuckled slightly before continuing, "we… kind of… ran into– well, _flew_ – into the dragon's nest…" He lowered his voice, but by the look on her face, Astrid heard him very clearly.

"You found the nest?" She asked, disbelieved. He nodded nervously.

She glared, raising her voice, "You found the nest, and you kept it a _secret_?"

The dragons looked at her in confusion, startled by the sudden outburst.

"Astrid – "

"Do you know how many people died because you didn't say anything?" She clinched her fists. Vikings were fighting for their lives, and this guy had the answer all along and decided to keep quiet about it?

"Astrid, just listen – "

"No, I'm not listening to anything you have to say!"

He sighed, slouching back, "It doesn't matter. We killed it anyways."

That caught her off guard, "What?"

Amused, he folded his arms behind his head, "Thought you said you weren't going to listen to anything I – Kay, okay!" He threw his hands out in defense after she clinched her fist and was about to get up. He sighed in relief when she sat back and crossed her arms.

"When we got there... we saw what was causing the dragons to raid Berk. It was a massive dragon the size of a mountain. It had this… ability to order other dragons to bring her food… and if, if they didn't…" He sighed and rubbed his face with his palms, ignoring the stunned look Astrid was giving him, "It swallowed a Gronckle whole. Astrid, even if Berk _did_ find the nest, what then? That thing would have killed everyone."

It went quiet. Astrid couldn't believe it. How could a dragon _that_ big even exist?

"Toothless and I took it down after we found its weak spot. He saved me but…" He looked down at his fake leg, remembering the agonizing pain he had to endure. He hoped she wouldn't ask just _how_ he survived and got help for his leg. He wasn't ready to tell her the rest.

Astrid stared with wide, horrified eyes. He was only a teenager when he lost his leg… and even though she felt like he might have exaggerated the dragon's size there was no denying that he was telling the truth. Hiccup hardly ever lied, and when he did, it was very obvious, he was a terrible liar.

Was that why the dragon attacks stopped for a while right after Hiccup vanished? If so, then Hiccup had become a hero without anyone knowing. Still, if the root of the problem was the big dragon, why did the dragons start attacking again?

"But… looks like we have a bigger problem now, huh, bud?" Hiccup patted the dragon's side. The Toothless grumbled after hearing the word _bud_ , knowing his human was talking to him. Hiccup turned back to her. "When I heard that Berk was getting attacked again, I thought it was another dragon like the one we killed. But when we followed the dragons back to their nest… it wasn't a nest… they just dumped it in the middle of the ocean… If it was hiding under water, how did it control them if it didn't use hypnotic calls? There wasn't any noise." He scratched his head, thinking deeply, "I know something's down there. Just a few days ago, I… saw something glow underwater, but every time we try to fly closer, Toothless freaks out. He won't fly near that spot. Well… whatever it is, it's smart. The raids are organized."

Astrid shivered. Not only was the dragon underwater, invisible to them, but it also uses strategy to attack. She waited for Hiccup to continue, to hopefully tell her that he had an idea, but he sat there, staring up.

"So… what now?" She asked, praying that he had a good answer.

He sighed, "I don't know."

No. this wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Just… give me some time. I'll figure something out." He said. Standing up, he walked over to her and offered her his hand, hoping she won't pull him down again. "M'lady?"

Rolling her eyes, she took his hand and pulled herself up.

– Then punched him.

"Gghhaa! _Really_ , Astrid? _Really_?" He said, rubbing his stomach.

She huffed and crossed her arms, "I remember, now."

He gawked at her, not sure what she was talking about.

"At the healer. You were there."

He suddenly paled. "I…"

"I remember what you said." She growled, slowly walking over to him.

"A – Astrid, I can explain!"

She roughly grabbed him by a leather strap attached to his chest, clinching her fist. "Wife? _Really_? Cause I don't remember getting married!"

"No, no, look… you see – I had to get you to a healer and… well, I couldn't take you to Gothi – she had her hands full and… I didn't want to get found out so…" He mumbled, forgetting to breathe a few times. "I… took you to a healer in… what … uh, what was it called? I can't remember but I found her and… she, well, she wouldn't…"

She saw his cheeks turn red and he looked to the side, avoiding her stare. "She wouldn't let me in… because, well, I wasn't family – but I needed to be there with you… _it's_ _not what you think_! I just... wanted to make sure you weren't going to just, wake up and run off..." He awkwardly tried to remove her hand from his chest, but he became weaker the longer he felt her stare up at him. After putting the pieces together, her cheeks turned red.

"So you…?" She wanted him to keep going.

He gulped loudly, "Yeah… I may have said that you're… you know, my wife… I was panicking – _it was the only thing I could think of, honest_!" He threw his hands up in front of him in defense. She stared at for a while before bursting into laughter, releasing poor, stunned Hiccup who looked at her in confusion. She was _laughing_? Oh well, it was better than getting hit, so he tried to laugh it off with her, but only managed a few fake, awkward laugh that was a mix of confusion and nervousness.

"Hah… you're… not mad?" He carefully asked, slowly walking backwards.

She laughed harder. This was indeed Hiccup. No matter how old he got, he would never change. She knew for a fact that he wasn't an idiot and knew the consequences he would face if she woke up at the healer's to him calling her his wife, yet, he did it anyway to keep her from hurting herself.

"Of course I'm mad," She said after collecting herself, "but I'll let this one slide."

He blinked. He was pretty sure she would have killed him by now… So why didn't she?

He looked at his dragon while pointing a thumb at Astrid questionably, mouthing _what just happened?_ to the dragon.

The Night Fury, not understanding human body language, snorted in response.

* * *

 **As always, thank you for the reviews!**

 **The part with Hiccup describing his past got me… A lot of us have had moments when we felt completely unloved and unwanted… You know, moments that cause you to ask yourself questions like "** _ **If I had done something different, would it matter? Would the result change**_ **?" I know we all do. Some people just don't realize what impact they can cause to others. Some people forgive, but they never forget. Even if you're not hurting someone physically, remember, words can hurt. Even if you're just making jokes of someone, words are like swords, once you threw them at someone, you can't take them back.**

 _ **Anyways**_ **, if you're wondering what's under the water… you'll find out later :3 This chapter turned out longer than I expected, but I guess that's a good thing.**

 **If you noticed, Hiccup didn't go into full detail on how he survived the battle with the Red Death with a badly injured leg. There is a reason why he did that, but if I revealed it here it would seem too sudden, so I'm leaving it for another chapter when the time comes.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Does he normally do that?"

Astrid asked, leaning away from the Night Fury eyeballing her plate with wide open, green eyes, and ears flat against his head. After Hiccup insisted, she sat back in bed and tried to swallow some food, but that seemed hard to do with the dragon staring at her all the time.

"Well, no – not _all_ the time. I make sure to feed him before I eat so… Just don't give in to him. I don't want him begging for food every time he sees someone eating." Hiccup said, writing something on a piece of paper. Hiccup's advice turned out difficult to accomplish. Whenever the girl brought a slice of fish to her mouth, the dragon followed it with his eyes, leaning closer. Glancing over to Hiccup, making sure his back was still turned, she quickly flicked the fish to the dragon that happily snatched it between his jaws before throwing his head back and swallowing it whole, making a gulping noise from his throat.

Hicupp's pen stopped moving. "Aaand you just gave him one, didn't you?"

Astrid blushed and looked back down at her plate. "N… no!" She said, stuttering. The dragon next to her licked his lips and wiggled from side to side, purring loudly. He liked this human. At first, he wasn't sure about her after witnessing what happened between her and his master. He still wasn't sure what all that was about. Was it a battle for dominance? Were they fighting over territory? Or was it just a mating thing humans did? Whatever it was, it was over now, and things seemed to settle down.

Hiccup offered the female human some food, and she gave him some! She liked him! He liked her, too, but she wasn't Hiccup. His master is a kind and caring human. No one could ever replace him. Hiccup freed him, gave him his name, and he plays with him. Toothless remembered the first few days with his human. He was so much smaller than other humans, but he was also much smarter! He created a new tail for Toothless so he could fly again, he figured out how to make fire like dragons, and over time, he made a protective shell to cover himself. He also made claws and teeth to cut fish and for self-defense, hiding them in his shell whenever he wasn't using them.

Toothless was a lucky dragon to have a master like Hiccup. He would lick him and rub his body against him to show how much he loved him. Hiccup would squeeze his neck or scratch him in response. Toothless understood the scratching right away as it felt nice. But it took him a while to understand what the neck-squeezing thing meant. At first, he thought it was a playful gesture, but after watching the two humans squeeze each other, he finally understood. It was their way of comforting one another. Toothless trotted over to his Hiccup, nudged his head beneath the human's arm to get to his face and gave him a good lick.

Hiccup tried to rear his head back, but it was too late, receiving a wet lick from his dragon. He let out a groan of annoyance before chuckling as soon as he saw the Night Fury looking up at him with cute, wide eyes blinking innocently at him. Hiccup released his pen and scratched Toothless behind the ears, still chuckling. "Hi, bud." Astrid couldn't help but smile. This was the almighty Night Fury? It behaved like a kitten or a puppy. A slapping sound was heard as the dragon's tail waged, thumping the floor with his tailfins. Her eyes caught the fake tailfin on the dragon.

"What happened there?" Astrid asked, pointing at it.

Hiccup wiped the slimy drool off his chin with his sleeve, and looked to where Astrid was pointing. She suddenly regretted asking when his smile faded. "He… When I shot him down, his tail ripped," He looked sadly at the dragon that rested his head on his lap, looking up at him. Hiccup smiled again, knowing the dragon did not blame him. He scratched the dragon's head playfully. "but it's okay now, right bud? You couldn't save all of me – you just _had_ to make it even." Toothless shook his in a playful manner, batting at Hiccup's fast hands with his front paws.

Astrid smiled gently. With the dragon out of the way, she started eating in peace. It was clear Hiccup was happy here. She had never seen him smile and laugh like that. It was everyone on Berk who made him believe he couldn't be happy. She saw that now. Back on Berk, he was shy, quiet and awkward, flinching away whenever someone raised their voice. Here, he was a confident man, surviving with a Night Fury in the wild. He enjoyed life, something she had never done.

"Why did you save Berk?" The question slipped out her lips before she could stop it.

He stopped and turned to look at her with a perplexed look, "Why not? I mean, wouldn't you do the same?"

"But… after how everyone treated you… you still saved them, why?"

He looked down to think for a moment, "I… Yeah, I guess I did feel left out back then, but… I don't think everyone deserves to die." He said, petting Toothless's head.

"And… how long were you planning to hide from Berk?" She asked with an apple in her mouth.

"I'm not hiding, just, living far away."

She sighed. "What about the chief?"

He flinched, "What about him?" He asked, slightly irritated. Astrid figured out it was a touchy subject and decided to approach it with caution, fearing she might upset him. "Stoick thinks you're dead." Well, that wasn't entirely true. No one knew what the chief thought. Everyone had their own conclusion of what happened to Berk's heir, but most thought he died by a dragon, so she decided to go with that. He sighed, "It's… probably for the best."

She cringed. He was okay with the thought of his father thinking his son was dead? "Hiccup, the chief searched everywhere for you when you left."

He buried his hands in his hair, "Look, Astrid, I know what you're trying to say but… Dad… Dad and I… we didn't get along. He wanted his son to be a Viking and, I wan't a Viking – everyone knew that." He sighed and turned back to his desk, "He acted like I was a failure… I- I guess I was but, but still… I felt like he was a stranger. I hardly saw him, and I know he had a village to run and stuff but, whenever I _did_ see him, he just yells at me or he looks at me like I'm in his way. When he _does_ do fatherly things… they, they felt forced." He breathed deeply, covering his face with his hands.

Astrid was stunned. She had always thought of the chief as a wise man, never making mistakes and making good decisions, but now, Astrid didn't see that leader. It felt like Hiccup had zero love as a child. The harsh treatment he reserved affected him as he grew, which eventually drove the boy away. Even though Astrid felt like it was everyone's fault, she couldn't help but get angry at her respected chief. He was his father, his only parent, yet, didn't bother parenting. _That_ was the chief she obeyed for so many years? _That_ was the leader who swore to protect them all? Now, it was clear he would only protect the strong, and leave the weak defenseless, even if that weak person was his own son.

Hiccup opened a small, wooden box and plucked out a small candled to light up. The room slowly darkened as the sun retreated.

.

"This is a disaster…" the chief sighed, wiping his face with his hand. After organizing proper farewells to those who lost their lives, the sudden events were punches to Stoick's chest. He still couldn't wrap his head around what happened. Not only was the story about the Dragon Rider true, but he had his own dragon army and possibly saved his village. Stoick couldn't think of any reasons why the Rider would do that. Some villagers grieved for the loss of their loved ones, some were at the mead hall, getting treated by the healers, some did whatever they could to fix necessary buildings, and some continued looking for missing loved ones, like the Hoffersons. Both parents looked fare and wide. They asked everyone, dug up house debris and removed everything out of their way, desperately searching for their missing daughter.

She was gone.

She vanished without a trace. Even though there was no sign of her, they never gave up. Stoick's heart clinched. He understood the need to keep looking for a missing child. It was clear they won't stop looking, just like he looked for years, only to find nothing. He stood there, watching as they called Astrid's name over and over, with tears running down their faces. His burned arm stung, reminding him that he needed to go find a healer. It was rare for the chief to get hit, but that attack was like no other. Berk would have died if that Rider and his Night Fury wouldn't have…

Night Fury…

Fishlegs said the scales in the cove were identical to the ones Trader Johann brought, claiming they belonged to a Night Fury. The cove was where Astrid found Hiccup's blade. Now, the Night Fury shows up with a rider on its back, and Astrid suddenly disappears… Stoick's eyes widened. This was no coincidence. The rider had something to do with the disappearances. What was he trying to do? Stoick shook his head. Even though his gut told him something suspicious was going on, the idea was too crazy to be true. He needed more evidence to support that theory.

"Good to see you're still in one piece." Gobber said, limping over to the chief. He had several scratches and bumps, but seemed fine.

"How are the others doing, Gobber?"

"Well, other than a few missing limbs and lots of burns, they'll live.

Stoick rubbed his temple. This wasn't what he was hopping for.

"Look at the bright side," Gobber offered, "at least we know that Night Fury and his fella or on our side."

Stoick looked at him sternly, "How do you know he's with us Gobber? He had a dragon army of his own. He could have wanted the dragons to join him."

"That," Gobber pointed at Stoick with his fake hand, "or he just wanted to help? He only left _after_ the dragons tucked their tails between their legs and flew off! _If_ he wanted to kill, he would have done so, but he didn't."

Stoick sighed. His friend always looked for the happy side of everything, no matter how absurd he sounded. A cane tapped him on the shoulder. Stoick glanced down and saw Gothi looking up at him with tired, old eyes. She tapped her cane on the sandy ground and started writing. Stoick moved over, making room for his friend to step closer and read what the old woman was trying to say. "She says… she had a visit – Ow! I mean a vision." Gothi waved her cane at him threateningly. Stoick held his breath. If her vision was so important she had to tell the chief, then it must be very serious. She pointed her stick up, gesturing to her hut.

.

Shaking a bowl full of leafs, plants, flowers, seeds, animal bones, and some dragon scales found after the battle, she placed it on the ground in front of the chief and the blacksmith. After they had gotten to her hut, she insisted them to take a seat and watch. Stoick wasn't sure what she was doing, but stayed to see what the healer was trying to tell them. She grabbed two bowls, one with dragon blood, and the other with some sort of purple liquid the consistency of water. She poured both of them into the bowl in front of the chief and started mixing with a wooden stick. Stoick gave his friend a questioning look, in which his friend replayed by shrugging. She brought two sticks, held them over the bowl and started clapping them against each other. Sparks flew into the bowl before the leafs flouting on top of the liquids finally caught fire, causing the mixture to glow purple and thick, black smoke rose above. Gothi grabbed her cane and started moving it in the air writing something invisible.

The bowl puffed a ring of purple smoke around it. Stoick and Gobber saw an image appeared within the flames. The outline of a man was formed. He waved his hands up, and a black shape of what looked like dragon bones appeared from the ground, next to the body were two stones, one blue, and one pink. The man waved his hands faster, and a string of blue light shot out of the blue stone and entered the bones. The skull's eyes glowed blue, the bones reconnected and the beast stood up. The blue stone turned grey and broke apart, turning into dust. The image changed. The same man was running as a group of people ran after him with swords. The ground turned black, and two, massive jaws grew out of the ground, surrounding the people before it snapped shut like a bear trap, swallowing them whole. The image turned all black, and two blue, rounded orbs stared at the chief, mocking him. The eyes were on fire, producing bright blue flames from its sockets. The pictures faded and the fire in the bowl died.

The chief and Gobber were stunned. Stoick felt sweat trickle down his body. He looked at the healer for answers. Gothi's walked over to some sand sprinkled on the ground and used the end of her cane to write. Gobber walked over and started reading, feeling the chief's eyes on the back of his head. "She says Berk is in danger…" Gobber gulped before continuing. This was _not_ a good start, "She says, someone fare away used a stone and spells to bring an extinct dragon back to life, but something went wrong, creating a monster. That monster ate his creator and his whole village before the spell was finished. It is evil, and will eat anything and everything."

Stoick felt his heart stop.

Gobber exhaled to calm himself then kept reading, "The only person who can stop it is a man with the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon. He is our only souvenir – Ow! I mean savior!" Gobber stepped back, rubbing his head while eyeing the woman who had whacked him on the head with her cane. Stoick felt dizzy. He dropped his head in his hands and sighed in frustration. A man with the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon? What did that even mean? A chief with the strength of a dragon? Was _that_ what she meant? Breathing deeply he turned to the healer, "Where can we find this man?" he asked.

Gothi shrugged.

Gobber rolled his eyes. "You knew all that, but you can't figure out where the gods damn chief is?" Gobber complained, which earned him a whacked on the head with the healer's cane. Stoick sighed, "Thank you, Gothi. It seems we have no choice but to look for the chief on our own. We'll have to search every village." Stoick got up and headed for the door. He stopped and looked back at his friend, "Come, Gobber, we have to inform the village." With that, the chief and the blacksmith left, leaving Gothi staring worriedly at the bowl on the floor.

.

People screamed as they ran for the boats. Children, old people and injured villagers crowded the already full boats as more people tried to fit in, abandoning their homes and land. Their blonde chief shouted and pointed his sword at the sky as he ordered his retreating warriors, "Hold your ground! Where are you going? Come back here – that's an order!" His voice rumbled in the air, but no one paid attention. He saw the healer with her apprentice run by, heading for the boats.

"Eira, not you, too!" He yelled in outrage. The healer helped her teenage helper on a boat before she hurriedly scrambled to get on. "Cowards! Is this how you show your loyalty to your tribe?"

"Loyalty _my_ _ass_ – I want to live! " The old, but athletic healer yelled back. She gestured for a large Viking to start rowing. The sea became full of boats and ships, filled with people escaping their island, leaving behind whoever decided to stay and risk their lives. The remaining warriors huddled around the island's edge. In the water below, bubbles popped on the surface as a black mass sat below. The chief got in front and waved his sword at the sky. "Whatever happens, we stand together!" He shouted. The warriors pulled out their swords, bows and hammers and pointed their weapons upwards, letting out cries of agreement.

A boom was heard and water sprinkled the island. The air turned wet and misty as the mounted sized beast stared down at them with black, hollow eye sockets. The chief inhaled the smell of dead fish and rotting flesh as he gripped his sword. "We fight like warrior, and we die like warriors!" he growled. The beast's eyes flashed into blue fire. Its throat vibrated as it charged up for an attack, its neck, nostrils and the inside of its mouth glowed blue as it aimed…

…and fired.

* * *

 **Surprise! XD**

 **Wasn't expecting that, were you? :3**

 **This chapter took a while to organize, mostly because I needed to decide when to switch between characters.**

 **We got to see what was going on in Toothless's head XD My cat does that when I'm eating. His face is hilarious when he stares at me, trying to mind control me with his cute kitten eyes lol**

 **And that healer… well… we'll meet her again later X3**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The peaceful night and its quietness created a relaxing atmosphere. The moon was full and high in the sky, accompanied by small dotes of faraway stars. The wind whistled as it passed through healthy, green grass. Yellow chicks cuddled beneath their mother's puffed-out feathers, absorbing her warm body, prospering to sleep through the night. Crickets awoke, hopping from one place to another, searching for mates.

The breeze traveled through the open window and brushed the curtains hung at both sides, causing them to dance lightly. Shivering as the wind touched her exposed neck, the sleeping Astrid shifted, trying to get into a position that might block the wind, but no matter how many times she curled into herself, she couldn't get comfortable, until a hand grabbed the blanket and gently lifted it up, folded it and tucked it under her chin, careful not to wake her. Her body stilled and relaxed, finally relieved. Strands of yellow-golden hair had come loose, forming messy waves on the pillow and her face.

Gazing down at her, he brushed the cures of hair away from her eyes and cheek with his fingertips, uncovering her closed eyelids and pink cheek as she breathed slowly. He pinched a small patch of hair, curled it and tucked it behind her ear. It was rare to see her like this. She looked so content and at peace. He had wanted to let her know where he was heading, but after seeing her asleep, he couldn't find it in his heart to disturb her. He walked over to his desk, lowering his peg leg slowly to prevent any noises. He licked his thumb and pinched the flame burning on the candle's head, killing it. Taking his helmet under his arm, his placed his book in one of the drawers and walked out, strapping the helmet on. He looked at the sleeping Viking one last time before gently closing the door half way, leaving just enough room for the cold air to leave, while giving her privacy.

On his way down the stairs, he strapped his bow and arrow filled quiver on his back, ready for any faraway attacks on his journey. He stepped outside, feeling the wing blow. His Night Fury shoved passed him, excited to fly. Toothless trotted over to his favorite tree, stood on his hind legs as his front ones clumped their claws down deep into the bark. He arched his back, stretching his muscles as his claws dragged down, marking the tree with more of the dragon's claw marks. Overtime, Hiccup figured out his dragon was indeed nocturnal. He would be lazy during the daytime, taking short naps now and then, but at nighttime, the Night Fury would bounce around energetically, looking for any way to entertain himself. This wasn't a problem for Hiccup. Most of his travels happen at night, when most creatures are asleep and the night is empty.

Hiccup whistled, signaling his dragon to come. Toothless walked over to him happily, shaking his head, ears smacking his scalp, creating slapping sounds. The dragon grunted when his master hopped onto the saddle on his back and clicked his metal foot in place. Hiccup tapped the dragon's head. "Let's go, bud."

And the dragon took off.

.

Stoick sighed. Hunching forward, he marched with fake courage toward the forge. After the horrible news he had revealed to his people, the chief simply wanted to rest, but he was a Viking, and Vikings don't give up easily, even if everything turns against them. Brushing his red beard with his fingers, he looked at the closed forge. It was too dark for anyone to be up, but after the chief's son went missing, Gobber started working overnight. Gathering what pride was left in him, Stoick pushed the door open. After so many bad things had happened to his village over the years, the chief wanted to talk to a friend. He heard bangs, clicks and drawers slamming. When the chief followed the sounds, which led to a back room, he found the blacksmith crouched on his knees with a drawer in hand. He hastily flipped it over, spilling its contents. Papers flew and pens cluttered and rolled away. The one-handed man grunted and threw the piece of wood away carelessly, only to rip out another drawer.

Confused by his friend's actions, the chief purposely cleared his throat loudly to get his attention, but Gobber was too focused to notice. So he tried again, loudly this time. Suddenly aware that the chief was standing near, Gobbed knocked his head against the desk, a failed effort to raise his head to look at the chief. Stoick looked at him in both confusion and concern, but his friend responded by chuckling while rubbing his head with his only good hand.

"I see you found your way in." Gobbed said, still chuckling as he continued searching for bumps on his head.

Stoick glanced around. Judging by the drawings on the walls and weird looking contraptions placed everywhere, Stoick noted that this room wasn't Gobber's. "Gobber… what…?"

"This was Hiccup's," The blacksmith said, waving his fake hand around, gesturing to the room. "all of it. Lad wanted a place for his crazy ideas."

Stoick couldn't decide where to look. His eyes traced everything. This was where his son spent building his dreams, creating what everyone else dismissed. This was his sanctuary, a place where he felt perfect for once. Stoick felt something rise in his throat. Gulping didn't help. Sensing his friend's discomfort, Gobber pulled up a chair for his chief, which Stoick accepted gratefully. Leaving the chief to think in peace, Gobber went back to the desk and started picking out papers from the drawer he had pulled out just minutes ago.

"That Hiccup was something, eh? For someone so little, he never stood still. I'd tell him to stay put, next thing I know, he was half way across the village."

Stoick managed a chuckle, but his frown never left. "I remember when he was just a wee little thing. He was so… different." He sighed and covered his face with his hands in guilt, "I shouldn't have been so hard on him."

Gobber stopped looking at the papers in hand to listen to Stoick more carefully.

"He was just a boy, and I failed him. I wanted him to be the best Viking… instead I made him believe he didn't belong here." One of his hands slipped away from his face and reached for the small blade attached to his belt. He held it gently and with care. His thumb ran over the letters on the handle. "My son, I'm so sorry."

Gobber sighed and went back to searching through papers. "Blaming yourself won't help you, Stoick."

"It's true though." Stoick said, tucking away the blade, "I have no one else to blame."

"True or not," Gobber said, putting away the papers in his hand and starting with another batch, "What's done is done. You can't go back and change what happened."

Stoick sighed. Gobber was right. Looking at the past won't change a thing. staring at the blacksmith, he found him still shuffling through paper after paper. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a gods damn Night Fury."

Stoick's mind blanked. Blinking repeatedly, he stared at what Gobber was doing. After Gobber realized he needed to explain more, he sighed and placed the papers back.

"I think the dragon fella had been here when I was gone."

Stoick blinked in confusion, "Dragon fe – you mean that Dragon Master?" he asked, just to make sure.

"Aye, I wasn't sure who could have been here, but now, it makes sense." Gobber said, flipping through more papers, "There were drawings of this strange looking dragon here, but when I got back, they were burned. I wasn't sure what kind of dragon it was, but after I saw that beast last night…" Gobber looked back at the chief, "Stoick, your son drew a Night Fury."

Stoick stared in silence. He threw his head back and ran his hand over his helmet. Hiccup? Drawing a Night Fury? But how? How on Earth did the boy even _know_ what a Night Fury looked like? "Are you positive?"

"Aye, but it wasn't just _a_ Night Fury, it was _the_ Night Fury, the same one from last night. It had the saddle and the weird tail thingy and everything."

Stoick snapped his neck to stare at his friend. It took a while for the information to sink in, but when it did, he was overcome with shock. His boy knew about the black dragon, or at least, seen it at some point. Way hadn't he told him? Did he not trust his own father about something like this?

"Ha-ha!" Gobber laughed suddenly, waving around a piece of paper energetically. "Found it! I found it! He missed this one!" He got up clumsily and handed the paper over to Stoick in a hurry. "I knew there was one in here somewhere!"

Stoick's eyes widened. This was the Night Fury. It was standing on all fours with its wings tucked in, and just like Gobber said, it had a saddle and an unusual looking left tailfin. There was no mistaking it. It was the same dragon.

" _Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."_

" _It's not like the last few times, Dad! I mean I really, actually hit it! You Guys were busy. I had a very clear shot. It went down off Raven Point."_

Stoick couldn't breathe. This was all too much. His son had shot it down. He had shot it and _told_ him, but he brushed it off. Stoick wondered. Was the rider on it when Hiccup captured the dragon? If so, why did he let him go? Judging by the drawing, it was clear Hiccup had come back to draw the beast. New questions started forming in his mind. Was the rider responsible for his son's disappearance? It would explain why there weren't any boats stolen the day his son vanished.

Did the Dragon Master… kill him? Did he relocate him? Did he take him?

Hiccup went missing after he shot down a Night Fury, and Astrid went missing after the Night Fury and his rider appeared. It wasn't a coincidence. The drawing in the chief's hand was proof that the rider and his dragon had something to do with the disappearances. Gobbed said something about most of the drawings being burned. It must have been the rider. Who else would be connected to a drawing like this? Was the rider trying to hide the evidence?

.

Flying through the winds, the black dragon soared over the deep, dark sea. Small waves parted beneath him with every wing beat. Toothless was content, but his rider kept looking around, peeking down every now and then. He didn't understand what the human was saying, but it was clear by his voice he wasn't too happy. He seemed nervous and confused.

"I don't get it, bud." Hiccup whispered, eyes still searching the waters, "Where did it go? It should have been here."

It never left. This spot was where the dragons would drop their catch and where bubbles and light would rise. But now, there was nothing, which was frightening. Not knowing where it might have gone meant it could be anywhere by now. The fact that it moved meant that it was indeed a living thing, but the reason _why_ it suddenly decided to move was still a mystery. Looking up, Hiccup saw the moon hanging in the sky. As long as the moon was still there, he had to keep searching.

* * *

 **Hello :3 I don't know what's going on, but my internet wasn't working very well for a few days.**

 **Looks like Gobber and Stoick are finally putting the puzzle together XD And I love how the beginning turned out.**

 **Lol I loved everyone's reactions when I read the reviews for chapter 10 thanks for all the support :3**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Rivers splashed and slapped at every curve as the fast tides pushed forward. Tiny colorful fish fought against the violent waves, weaving their fit bodies from side to side and catching passing-by food particles. Unfortunately, their launch time got interrupted when a giant beaked snout cut through the river's path. Pebbles flew and fish scattered for their lives. The culprit, a Blue Nadder, was quite pleased with her new game: Catch the fish! Ducking her head closer to the water, she turned her head from one side to the other, focusing on one particular eye to pin point a fish's location. Having her eyes located on the sides of her head, combined with owning a huge horn between them made it impossible for Nadders to see what was placed in front of their noses.

Nearby, a blond Viking sprawled on the grass sighed in frustration, staring at one lonely, thin cloud glide across the almost empty sky. A few hours ago, she had woken up to her dragon's cooing, desperate for food but had been reluctant to leave her human's side. After limping her way around the house, garden and other places she had decided to check, she finally took her scaly pet to nearby water in order to find fish. Stuffed and full, the dragon had formed a game to entertain herself as her human sat there, being a human. Astrid was not pleased. She was angry, frustrated, irritated, confused, lost, bored, in pain and felt negative in every possible way. She'd looked everywhere, but that son of a half troll wasn't around. He left her, just like that.

She was ready to disfigure his face…

She had questions, lots of questions, mostly to herself.

What did she have to do? No matter how much she thought about it, she believed she wouldn't, _couldn't_ kill another dragon. So what now? Her family needed her, but that meant that she needed to go back to Berk, but what about Hiccup? What about her dragon?

Everything seemed so wrong.

Sighing loudly, she heaved herself up, immediately clutching her sore side. Thumping sounds were made when her dragon marched to her, ready to follow. Astrid couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the Nadder's childish behavior. After everything that has happened so far, the Viking was glad to have found this sweet dragon. Grabbing the dragon's snout for balance, she steadied herself as she walked through the uneven ground with the dragon's chin practically leaning on her shoulder. It was common to walk by dragons, but they all either ignored her, went back to sleep, trotted away, or simply flew away. None had tried to harm her or seemed interested in any way. She figured they were all tried by Hiccup, especially after seeing two strange water dragons spill water and a large number of multi-colored fish into a barrel before they both plunged into the sea, leaving circles of foamy bubbles waving on the water's surface.

The place had a lot of dragon, but no humans so far.

The place was lush and green, with long, wet grass growing on every possible inch. There were also lines of fences mapping the land, separating farm areas from buildings. On the buildings area, none of the strictures looked the same. The one she had been sleeping in was the tallest and was located far away from every other building. Looking at it from outside, Astrid had to hold her breath. It looked more like a miniature castle than a home. It was four times bigger than Stoick the Vast's home back on Berk, with some strange wooden handles sticking out from the roof and corners of the house. Dragons occasionally sat on them. There were other structures, such as a few sheds, a rolling water mill, a well, a few dragon statues, a small forge, a bigger forge connected to a bigger storage area, and two locked shads.

The farm was divided into two parts, plants and animals, both guarded by dragons. Sting-armed dragons circled chickens, sheep, goats and yaks. There was a good-sized, clean pond at the center, perfectly squire shaped and obviously mad-made. It had a long river cutting through it, entering from one side, and out the other. The parts where the river and the pond met were separated by thin wire, allowing water to flow in, but preventing the fish inside the pond from escaping while filtering the pond. The fish that lived in the pond were big, fat, healthy, colorful and, well, delicious looking. A purple Nighmare slept nearby, curled up into a tight ball.

The sheep grazing on long green grass looked… unusual to her. Sure, a lot looked similar to the ones she found on Berk, but others looked so different she couldn't possibly believe those were sheep. Some were white but had black heads, some had wool so thick Astrid couldn't resist but touch, some were abnormally big, and some had hug horns on their heads. Some boars had longer hair than others. The yaks looked almost identical to the ones on Berk, except for one yak that was completely white. The chickens also had weird coloring, with some being brownish-grey with white spots all over and some were a mixture of every color that existed. Others had very long tail feathers, and some _sounded_ weird. She also saw a few ducks waddling around. Astrid was baffled with the variety of the animals. Unlike the animals on Berk that were fat, lazy, and sometimes sick, the animals here were fit, lively and healthy. Sure, Berk had more animals, but the hens here were much bigger and better. Just how in the name of Thor had Hiccup managed to collect all these?

The grassy land finally ended at a curved angle that was most likely edited and dug by someone in order to make a nice walk path. Sea met land, covering and uncovering the ground in a wet blanket. Nearby were two small, banana shaped boats that were both resting a few steps a away from a wooden dock. Both ships were similar and had blankets covering the back of the boats. They were both trading boats, Astrid realized. With a deep breath, she approached one of them. As soon as she grabbed the edge of the blanket, she suddenly felt like a guilty burglar. Why feel guilty? _He_ was the one who kidnapped her and left her here with his belongings. Now slightly angry, she huffed and tore away the blanket. Two shields, two hammers and a few long and short blades were found, all with their deadly parts covered with a brown cloth tied with wool string. He was trading weapons.

The Nadder behind her gurgled curiously. Astrid looked back at her dragon, finding it staring at the distance with its spikes raised in interest. The forge, it was lit. A black dragon sitting outside hinted at who the person working inside might have been.

Oh, so he came back? Astrid huffed and stumped her way to the now heating forge, flattening the grass with each step. She was greeted with a wide-eyed Night Fury with his floppy ears straight up. He relaxed after realizing who this person was then went back to licking the space in between his back toes. Astrid still couldn't believe this was a Night Fury. After circling around the forge, she found the entrance: a wooden door that was slightly ajar. With the tips of her fingers, she gave the door a light shove and it slowly opened wider until it knocked the opposite wall with a clap. Hooks and shelves were full. The air smelled like chalk, burned dirt, hot metal, old rope, smoke and leather. He stood hunched with his shoulders bulging out his back, showing them off. It looked like his arms were the only things keeping him from face planting on the work table as he leaned against it with his head down, his hair shadowing his eyes. One of his hands came up and swiped down his face and he sighed tiredly.

His hand reached across the table and grabbed a knife resting on a half-used plate. He turned it upside-down and stabbed the sharp tip into a slice of honeyed bread before he trapped the food in his mouth and used his knuckles to wipe the edge of his mouth. He carelessly dropped the knife on the table and quickly switched to a charcoal pen, drawing four Xs on a map before circling the bottom part. It wasn't clear what kind of map it was, and when Astrid stepped forward, the floor creaked. Hiccup automatically dropped the pen and swiftly folded the map and tucked it away into his armor. His previously strained face turned into a friendly, greeting smile.

"Astrid!" He greeted and stopped for a few seconds, forming words to say, "I… I didn't find you in bed when I checked." He was struggling to start a conversation, looking around and closing previously opened books and notes. Astrid crossed her arms and huffed. He was hiding something.

"And where were _you_?" She demanded.  
His eyes nervously searched around, "Weh… Who – _me?_ Well, you know… here and there…" He trailed off when his eyes landed somewhere near her side, then at her eyes, then back down, then back up, worry slowly showing in his eyes. She glanced down and briefly noticed him stop himself from reaching out. To her side was a piece of paper. This was what he was eyeing, a simple drawing? Why…

It was her, staring off into a distance. He drew her again, and again, it was perfect.

Her mouth hung open without her knowledge.

"Oh... oh – that! It's just… I … " He looked away and scratched the back of his neck, "It's been a while since I, you know, drew someone… so…" He finally finished. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes with a guilty look. She had to look away because it felt like he was somehow melting her heart with that look. It looked like he was asking for forgiveness.

She tapped the paper with her nail, "It's good." She said simply with little emotion. She didn't want to sound surprised or happy, but that replay for some reason caused the man's eyes to widen in surprise. "Oh…oh. Ok… Good, I guess…" He forced a chuckle that came out awkwardly. His face suddenly turned to shock and worry and he hurriedly put his hand out.

"Wait! No – _Stop!_ "

She started feeling uncomfortable with the strange behavior that came out of nowhere, and began feeling creeped out and defensive when he quickly stepped towards her. It was when she heard the Nadder gurgle uncomfortably behind her that she realized her dragon had managed to follow her in, getting cramped into the tight space of the forge with her spiked head and body bumping into the pillars and walls. Feeling trapped, the Nadder jerked her head back to back up, only to head-butt a pillar, causing her spikes to pierce it. Stuck and panicking, she ignored Hiccups calming gestures and yanked back, freeing her spike. Because of the sudden, unexpected release, the dragon, not realizing it had been freed, drove back and slammed into another pillar.

A loud snap was heard and before she knew it, Astrid was shoved down by her shoulders, landing hard on her back. She heard a loud clunk and thud over her head and there was suddenly a hot, heavy body over her, breathing and moving. Instinctively, she punched. The person surrounding her coughed and hissed. His mouth was right above hers, judging by the breath that tickled her face. It took her a few seconds to finally see what had happened. The pillar had shifted, which had caused the wooden frame above to come loose and come down. It would have landed right on her if… if Hiccup hadn't pushed her down. The piece of wood was moved away by the Nadder, using her tail to lift it up and shove it away. She looked down at her human in worry, making desperate cooing noises.

"Okay… you okay?" He breathed out, still not fully alert.

She was about to snap but stopped and stared. He was leaning over her, with his warm body pressed up against hers. The ends of his reddish-brown hair touched her face. His nose almost reaching hers, his heavy, short breaths brushed her skin like feathers. She felt him, smelled him, noticed him. He was so close. Calm, dazed green eyes finally snapped fully open and he pulled back. He literally threw himself to the floor, spluttering nonsense apologies while scooting away, holding his hands up to show his innocence.

"Sorry, sorry, _sorry_ – I am _so_ sorry! I… I don't know wha – I don't know what happened! It was an accident – please _don't kill me_ – It's not what it looked like! I wasn't trying to do anything – nothing at all! I wouldn't _dare_ do something like that I – GAH! _I'm sorry?_ "

By then Astrid had planted her boot on his stomach. Her face red like a tomato, her body trembled and her blood felt like hot lava. She didn't know what she was feeling. It was a strange mixture of anger, confusion, embarrassment, fear, frustration, and a chunk of miss-placed energy. He had towered over her, _over her_. No one towered over Astrid Hofferson! A Hiccup had cornered her on the floor!

A Hiccup…

It was at that moment Astrid realized Hiccup, the little boy she had known back then, wasn't a runt anymore, but a full-grown, well built, fit _man_. He had managed to bring her down, showing some of his new capabilities. He had change in size, now being significantly taller with wider shoulders and sharper cheekbones.

He was strong enough to push her now. He had the ability to overpower her, even though she had never been defeated before in battle. His speed and reflexes, and the fact that he knew how to use a sword showed that he knew how to fight, and judging by how fast he had moved to push her, he was a fast fighter. Remembering the time he had fought of a wolf and the last battle on Berk before he had taken her, she suddenly felt uncomfortable being close to this man. Astrid knew a weak opponent when she saw one. Hiccup wasn't one. The way his body had pushed against hers… it felt strange. He wasn't a boy anymore, and she wasn't a girl, they were adults with different body upgrades. She was a woman, he was a man. She had a good start in life, he hadn't. Even after finding the long lost son of Stoick the Vast, it still felt like there was a chunk of history missing.

Somehow, she felt like she was in the home of a stranger, which made her feel exposed. With an angry screech, she kicked his stomach one last time, spun around and stormed off, kicking at the dirt. Hiccup swallowed a cough in his throat before clasping the table. He heaved himself up and leaned against the flat, wooden table, staring down at it with watery eyes. He blinked the moisture away and slipped out the folded map. Spreading it on the table, he eyed the Xs that littered the map. Every place he had checked last night, but he hadn't found a trace. His gaze went down, and his heart rate sped. The islands located were too close together, but the amount of water separating them was enough to hide that… _thing._ No Xs on that area yet. He still had time. He grabbed his knife and stabbed the circled spot on the map, a few islands away from Berk.

* * *

"I'm telling you – we are going the wrong way!"

"Oh, for the last bloody time … You're holding it the wrong way! By Thor – _give me that!_ "

The one holding the steering wheel, Alfhild, rubbed her temple with one meaty hand while using the other to hold the wheel. She sighed loudly and secretly blamed her chief for putting her in this situation. She had been silent, until her two companions decided to start throwing staff at each other, fighting over the map. A bucket flew past her head, barely missing her orange hair.

"Stop! Both of you are acting like untamed children!" She yelled over her shoulder, still holding the wheel. "I don't want to be the one telling Chief Stoick why we are late sending the letter to the Knuckleheads!" She warned.

Asmund and Bjorn released each other's helmets immediately. Bjorn pointed a thumb at his friend and whispered _"He started it."_ Unfortunately, Asmund had heard him and the fight was on again. Alfhild was sure Stoick had placed them with her to purposely get rid of them, keeping them away from the important Chiefs they needed to send letters to. She growled when she heard a muffled sound of hammer hitting helmet behind her. Everything suddenly went silent. Keeping one hand on the wheel, she turned around to make sure they hadn't killed each other, only to find them both staring at the sky to their right with Bjorn holding his helmet in place.

"Boys?" She called, but they didn't look at her.

"I think you hit me too hard – I'm seeing dragons." Bjorn said as he removed his helmet and rubbed the big red spot on his temple.

Alfhild froze. They were taking a safe route. Dragons never took this path! She followed their gaze and found a swarm of dragons heading their way. "Arm yourselves!" She ordered. Not wanting to release the wheel, she reached with her other hand and drew out her hammer while her partners readied nets. The dragons flew right over the ship, forming a dragon tornado above, swirling round and round. Alfhild eased out of her battle stance and raised an eyebrow at the unusual behavior of the dragons. What were they doing? They weren't attacking, but merely hovering harmlessly in the sky. The ship suddenly jerked up and all Vikings lost their balance. Their feet flew off the ship before their bodies slammed back down. The fat, female Viking quickly grasped the wheel and pushed her band back, away from her eyes. Asmund abandoned his fallen helmet and reached for anything to hold on to.

"What was _that?_ " Asmund nervously said, his eyes searching the sea around them. Creaking and cracking was heard from down below. Alfhild got to her feet and scanned the area, but found nothing. No obstacles, no other ships. Could it be they had truck an underwater boulder? The dragons remained in the sky, not doing anything else. Suddenly, there ground beneath their feet shifted and tilted fully to the right. Asmund and Bjorn were sent sliding away. One hand still on the wheel, Alfhild's heart thrummed and battled to escape her chest as the Viking held on for dear life. The ship was on its side and was slowly sinking. She released her hammer and used her other hand for extra grip. She heard her companion's screams stop after a splash. The dragons in the sky screeched and cried, but did nothing. Suddenly, she was under water and was thrown around like mindlessly.

Her body experienced extreme pressure from all sides and she saw a flash of blue light so bright, she had to shield her eyes. Her lunges burned threateningly. Up. She needed to go up! Her hands reached out blindly until she grabbed a piece of wood and kicked at the water, heading up, or at least, what she thought was up. She broke through the waves and took one big breath into her needing lunges. The air was damp and smelled like rotting flesh and old fish .It was dark, almost pitch black, and the water around her was decorated with parts of the broken ship. She couldn't find Asmund, but Bjorn was holding on to a barrel, wailing like a baby that just lost its mother. "Gods, what have I done to deserve this _? Help me Gods!_ " It sounded like he had been crying for hours. The air seemed hotter than ever. When Alfhild looked up, she saw that the only light was coming from a slit in the sky. She suddenly realized that there were walls around them… no, not walls... jaws. They were inside the mouth of something. The light in the sky shrunk and disappeared when the monster closed its jaws, trapping the broken ship and Vikings in its mouth. The gigantic monster dove back into the sea, vanishing without a trace.

* * *

 **Yes, I'm alive. Now, before you ask why I hadn't been updating for such a long time, I would like to say a few things first. First of all, thank you. Thank you. I don't know how else I can show my gratitude.**

 **Let me explain what had happened to me a few days after my last update. At first, I was going to post this chapter after my exams, but things started falling apart. I had problems with schools, bullies, teachers, exams, then I suddenly had problems with my family, then I went into surgery, then I had to deal with family and school bullies again, then I got sick and had to stay a few days in the hospital, then I started falling apart emotionally. My brain was dead for some time. I started having problems keeping food down. I got sick and had to stay a few nights in the hospital. I regained some strength after I started going to university. I was shocked after reading the messages I had ignored for so long on Fanfiction. People were asking if I was okay, if something was wrong, if something happened. I have no idea how you guys managed to somehow guess that something wasn't right, but thank you. Thanks to all of you. It's nice to write again. Writing this chapter was a great stress reliever :3**

 **I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try and finish it after my final exams.**

 **I'll see you guys on the next chapter :3**


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